Won't Let You Go
by dickard23
Summary: Mamoru breaks up with Usagi, just as his future self had planned, but he isn't the only one who meddled with the past. Now, instead of trying to get Mamoru back, Usagi moves onto someone else. Setsuna tries to restore the past timeline, dividing the scouts between those who support their leader vs. those who want to ensure Crystal Tokyo.
1. Prologue

Silver Millennium- 1014 Years Ago

A young boy with silver hair was playing with a football when it got away from him. He ran after it to see that it had ended up in front a blonde girl girl around his age.

"Is this your ball?" She kicked it away from him and giggled. He ran after it.

"That wasn't very nice, Odango!"

"My name isn't Odango, you baka!" The two kids started to bicker.

Eventually, a guard came for the girl. "You know you can't play with strange children."

"I am not strange," the boy argued.

The guard took the girl and left. She waved over the guard's shoulder, wondering if she'd ever see him again.

"I didn't even get her name," the boy thought as she was fading into the distance.


	2. Need to Move On

Present Day- 2014, Usagi and the other senshi are 15. Mamoru is 20. Diamond is 17. Sapphire 15. Rubeus and Esmeralda 18. Chibiusa is 6

* * *

Usagi thought she would be going on a picnic with Mamoru. It had been a perfect day, blue sky, beautiful clouds, and it was warm outside. Instead, she was shocked by what she was hearing. "What do you mean you don't love me anymore? We were meant for each other."

"Our past lives loved each other, but I'm not Endymion and you aren't Serenity. We don't have to fall in love because our pasts did. We are different. I'm too different."

She knew she couldn't change his mind, so she ran off, crying the whole way home. She ran upstairs, past her mother who said dinner was in ten minutes. "I'm not hungry," she choked out, locking herself in her room.

"She's always hungry," Chibiusa commented. "How weird?"

Luna looked up. "Usagi, what is it?"

"Mamoru dumped me. He said he doesn't love me anymore."

"But what about the future and Crystal Tokyo?"

"Yeah, go ahead and remind me how much I screwed up!"

"You didn't screw up Usagi. Maybe he's just nervous. It's a big responsibility having such a future. Give him time. Maybe he needs to grow up."

"He needs to grow up! I'm 15 and I didn't ask to be Sailor Moon or the Moon Princess. I didn't just run away," even though she did whine and cry a lot.

"No you didn't. I'm quite proud of you," Luna said. She rarely said such things.

"Really?"

"Yes, Usagi. I know this hasn't been easy for you, but you aren't a quitter, even when you really want to, which happens more often than I would like. …"

"Not helping!"

"You're getting stronger every day. You just have to keep going. You can't put your life on hold for a fool."

"You're right."

"Now why don't you start with your homework?"

"Really, homework?" she whined.

"It will distract your mind, and having better grades will only help you."

Usagi sighed. If she got better grades, maybe Mamoru would come back. Maybe she was too immature for him now. She got to work studying. It wasn't long before she got stuck and she called Ami.

"I'm not interrupting your dinner am I?"

"No, I already ate. Why?"

"Can you help me with math? I'm stuck on the second problem."

_She did the first one?_ Ami agreed, once the shock wore off, and started to explain it. She used donuts as her example, which helped Usagi understand.

"Thanks. I'll try the rest myself." It wasn't easy, but Usagi got through the rest of her problems, using Ami's example when she got confused.

Luna smiled. _Maybe there was a silver lining after all._

* * *

The next day, Usagi heard a pounding on the door. "Get up. You need to take me to school!"

She groaned. She got dressed and quickly put her books in her bag.

"Don't forget your homework," Luna reminded her.

"Crud!" She had almost forgotten it. She shoved it in her bag too and took her "cousin" to school.

"I'm on time, for once," Chibiusa sassed.

"No one cares when you get to school. It's not like you get detention." Usagi left before Chibiusa could respond. _Since when does she think so fast?_

She got to school, on time, to the surprise of her teacher. When she turned in her homework, her teacher was even more stunned. "It's complete AND the first two problems are correct!" The whole class stared at her.

Now I am a freak too!

After class, her teacher stopped her. "Usagi, I'm glad to see that you're putting in more effort. I knew you could do it." Usagi wasn't used to compliments, from her teacher of all people. It was actually kind of nice.

The girls met at Rei's after school. "You're on time!" Rei checked her forehead. "Are you sick? You're a youma disguised as Usagi!"

"Piss off!" Usagi growled as she came inside.

"Someone can't take a joke!"

Usagi started looking at Rei's new mangas.

"Don't touch those Usagi!"

"But!"

"But nothing. You always get food on them."

"There's food!"

"Not for you!"

"Meanie!"

Minako was the last to arrive. "I met the most dreamy guy yesterday. His name is Diamond."

"What kind of stupid name is that?" Usagi asked, stunning her friends.

"Usagi!" Makoto chided.

"She has a point," Artemis added. "It is a ridiculous name, like a stage name for a porn star or something."

"Artemis!" Minako scolded. "He's very sweet."

"How much does he cost?" Usagi added.

"Good one," Artemis laughed.

"Well, I'm glad to see someone in a better mood," Luna continued.

"What has gotten into you?" Makoto asked.

"Mamoru dumped me yesterday. He said he didn't love me anymore."

"What!" Rei yelled. "What about Crystal Tokyo?"

"Thanks for reminding me because I FORGOT!" Usagi scowled.

"I didn't mean it like that. Does he know what he's doing?"

"Maybe he just needs to grow up!" Minako offered.

"If Usagi's the grownup in their relationship, I'm scared," Makoto retorted.

"Can we _please_ talk about something else?" Usagi begged. They went on to talk about the new youma that appeared last week. They quickly realized they didn't know much about them and decided they needed to do more research, which meant Ami needed to do more research. Artemis and Luna decided they would help.

Usagi did her homework after the meeting, and today, she actually ate dinner. She tried eating a normal amount and with better etiquette.

"Who are you and what did you do with my sister?" Shingo questioned.

"Now don't tease her. I've been trying to get her to eat properly for years," her mother chided.

"This isn't for that boy is it?" her father questioned, "Momo right?"

"Mamoru and no," Usagi lied. "I just need to grow up a bit."

Chibiusa was concerned. "You are sick aren't you?"

* * *

The rest of the week was more of the same. Usagi did her homework and tried not to eat so much. She was often hungry, but decided to fight it. Chibiusa missed Mamoru. He had just disappeared. When Usagi took her to school on Monday, she saw him.

"Mamo-chan!" the girl ran up to him, to Usagi's chagrin. "Why haven't I seen you all week?"

"I've been busy," he said. "But I'm not today. Maybe we could hang out at the arcade."

"Usagi will bring me after school," Chibiusa said.

"Usagi will not!" she retorted.

"What? Why?"

"Because I have homework to do, and you didn't even ask. I'm not your servant you know."

"Since when do you do homework?"

"Yeah Odango!"

"Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that anymore," she hissed at him.

"But I want to see Mamo-chan!"

"Then maybe he'll pick you up and take you there, but I won't."

"Fine, I will." He said.

"Good, you can bring her home then too!" Usagi wasn't meeting him at the arcade.

Before he could respond, she left for class.

He knew he had done the right thing by breaking up with her, but he couldn't believe how she was acting. "That's not Usagi," he said to himself.

* * *

When Usagi got to school, Minako was babbling about Diamond again.

"He sounds like a playboy," Usagi told her, honestly.

"You just don't know him. We're meeting at McDonalds after school with the girls if you want to join."

"I'll bring my homework." To everyone's surprise, she actually did bring her homework to McDonalds and started doing it.

"You'll strain your eyes if you read too much," she heard a taunting voice say.

"If Ami's eyes still work, I have a long way to go." She didn't even look up.

"Ouch!" he said with a laugh. "Nice one, Odango!"

"My name is NOT Odango!" she said.

"Well of course not, unless you had that hairstyle coming out of the womb." He poked her hairpin. "Were you born with hairpins?"

She almost laughed. "No you jerk! Is your given name jerk?"

"Nope. I earned that name. People call me Diamond." She looked him up and down. _This was the guy Minako was boasting about._

"How did you get such a silly name?"

"Ouch Odango you wound me. My eyes sparkle like diamonds, so they started calling me Diamond."

She laughed. "Are you really that full of yourself?"

"Actually I am, and you can be too!" he had a smirk on his face.

"Get out of here you bonehead!"

"Well in that case, bye Minako." He started to leave.

"Come back," she called. "Usagi's just fussy."

"Well in that case, maybe a McFlurry will get me on her good side." He came back with an Oreo one.

"How did you know it was my favorite?"

"Well Oreos are round like your hair, so it was a good guess!" He grinned.

"You jerk!"

"You must know other words!"

"Playboy, tool, cretin."

"Nah. I think I'll stick with jerk or Diamond jerk or the Prince."

"The Prince?"

"They call me that too sometimes, since I'm so smooth with the ladies."

"Are these ladies blind and deaf?"

"You should not insult the developmentally disabled. They have better taste than to date me."

"You can say that again!"

Her friends could not believe her banter with Diamond. Sure, Usagi and Mamoru hurled insults at each other, but Usagi always got mad when they did. Here, she seemed playful, jovial even.

"To think, I get you a McFlurry and I just get verbal abuse. Why do I bother?"

"Since I'm just that adorable," she teased.

"You sure are, Odango." He had noticed her immediately when he walked into Crown and as soon as she turned from her book and he saw her eyes, he knew he had to have her.

Minako frowned. He was so into her. Why did Usagi get all the luck? She wasn't even trying.

Eventually, they had to go home. Usagi barely got any work done. "You distracted me," she pouted.

"I could tutor you," he offered.

"I don't want to fail," any more than I already am.

"I'm a smart guy. I'll prove it to you."

"Good luck with that."

Usagi walked home. By the time she got there, dinner was about to start.

"There you are!" her mother said. "Dinner's ready."

Usagi wasn't all that hungry since she had a burger and a McFlurry but she ate some anyway to not be rude. Afterward, she went upstairs.

"Mamoru's invited me over to his apartment this weekend," Chibiusa bragged.

"Good luck with that!" Usagi was surprisingly not as jealous as she thought she would be.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Luna noticed the change in her. "Did you have a good day?"

"I did, despite Minako's silly boytoy."

"You met Diamond?" Luna had only known of one other man named Diamond, but he died in the Silver Millenium.

"I did and he's such a playboy. He's a shameless flirt with pretty eyes."

"So he's Minako but a man."

"Haha, I guess he is!"

Usagi finished her homework after dinner.

* * *

The next day, Usagi took Chibiusa to school. Luckily, she didn't see Mamoru. When she got there, the other girls were already talking.

"I can' t believe Usagi was flirting with Diamond like that, right in front of you."

"She didn't mean it. He started it," Makoto defended.

"And she's not over Mamoru. It's probably just a fluke," Ami added.

Minako knew better, but she stayed silent.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked.

"Nothing!" they all said, suspiciously. Usagi ignored them and went to class. She found out they had a test on Monday. Crap! I'll have to study all weekend. At least, Chibiusa's out of the house.

After school, Usagi asked Ami if she could help her study for their math test over the weekend.

"Sure. Where did you want to meet?"

"We can use my room if you want. Chibiusa has plans anyway!"

"Perfect!"

Later that evening, Usagi was just finishing her homework when she heard a shriek. She quickly transformed and ran outside. It was a youma, terrorizing a couple walking home from dinner.

"In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" she threw her tiara, quickly cutting off its arm. It regenerated. Before she could get off another attack, it started chasing her.

She found herself in a corner and she shrieked. "Prepare to die," the youma said with a laugh, but before it could attack, a silver ray of light appeared, blinding both of them. A man appeared and shot energy waves from his hand, blowing up the youma by overloading it. "Be careful Sailor Moon!" The man left before she could get a good look at him.

Tuxedo Mask appeared, but the battle was over.

"What were you doing out by yourself?" he admonished.

She rolled her eyes. "Clearly, I was looking for a John!" she went home.

Tuxedo Mask frowned. What was that ray of light he just saw and what was with her attitude?

Usagi was both happy that she had been saved and frustrated with Mamoru. He doesn't get to tell her what to do or admonish her when she messes up anymore. He dumped her. Why can't he just keep his unwanted comments to himself?

She got back.

"What happened?" Luna asked her.

"A youma was attacking. I hit it with my tiara, but it just regenerated. A silver man came and killed it."

"A silver man?"

She explained how he burst from a silver ray of light and then destroyed with some kind of energy waves

"Energy emitted from his hands."

"I think so."

"How weird! Where was Tuxedo Mask?"

"Late. He missed the battle."

"Even weirder. We should research this silver man!"

Usagi said she'd bring it up at the meeting tomorrow.

There was no meeting tomorrow. Makoto had a date. Rei was busy with the jinja. Ami figured without two of the five, she may as well study, and Minako said she was hanging out with Diamond.

"A date?" Usagi asked.

"No!" Minako said loudly. "Sorry. He said we should 'hang out' in between his classes."

"He takes classes?'

"No, he teaches Japanese to foreigners."

"He's a teacher?" Usagi couldn't see him being serious.

"A popular one too!"

Maybe he wouldn't have made such a terrible tutor. Of course he would. He's a total playboy!

Usagi decided to watch a movie as it was a Friday night and she didn't want to study all night. Chibiusa wanted to watch some movie with a unicorn. Usagi sighed and put it on. Having a little kid in the house sucked! Well, at least there's popcorn.

* * *

The next day, Usagi brought Chibiusa to Mamoru's, happy to get rid of her.

Ami came over shortly afterwards and they began to study. Usagi had to catch up on a lot, since she had only done homework for the last week and a half and this test was over the past month.

"I'm tired," Usagi said.

"It's only been two hours," Ami told her.

"That's a long time."

"How about a break in an hour?"

"Okay!"

An hour later exactly, Usagi asked, "can we get ice cream?"

"Sure, Usagi-chan!"

They went to crown and Usagi got an ice cream sundae. Ami was just about to say something about the science of ice cream when they heard, "you just love round foods. Don't you Odango?" It was Diamond with a smirk on his face.

"And you just love being a bonehead!"

"Well actually I do. Not every girl can handle me you know. I like to weed out the ones who can't early on."

"So you're a fool on purpose."

"Yes and no. I'm a bit foolish naturally, but sometimes I feel the need to outdo myself, and I get even more foolish."

"And how has that been working out for you?"

"Well, girls either love it or hate it. I either get a phone number or a shoe thrown at my head."

"And to think, all I had to do was throw a shoe at you at McDonalds."

"Even if you had, I'd probably try again!"

"Baka!"

Motoki came over. "Who's your friend?"

"Motoki, this is Prince Diamond, otherwise known as baka. Diamond, this is Motoki."

"I've been promoted to a prince. Will you be my princess?"

"Will you get a clue?"

"Maybe, probably not."

Motoki laughed. "Well I won't interrupt further. I was just saying hello!"

"I take it he's not your boyfriend," Diamond said.

"How would you know?"

"He didn't try and punch me."

"Well, you're correct."

"Deductive reasoning for the win."

Usagi rolled her eyes.

Eventually, Ami dragged her home to study. After a few more hours, Usagi was beat. "That was so hard."

"We got a lot done. I'm sure we can finish tomorrow."

"You want to study MORE!"

"Of course Usagi. We need to review what we did today."

"UGH! Why does studying have to be so hard?"

"Well it will be easier next time if you keep doing your homework."

"Oh LORD!" She needed another break. "I'm ordering a pizza. You want any!"

"I think I'm good. I'm still full from the ice cream. See you tomorrow Usagi-chan."

"Thanks Ami-chan."

Usagi survived the weekend with no more youma, well other than her textbook. She actually finished her test on Monday, even though she had gotten tripped up on two of the five problems.

I hope I passed this time.

She picked up Chibiusa after school. "Can we go to Mamoru's?"

"I'm busy today, Chibiusa."

"Doing what? Playing video games."

"No, I have a meeting, so unless he can come get you, the answer is no!"

"You're mean."

"And you're spoiled rotten."

Usagi reluctantly brought Chibiusa to Rei's. Her grandfather had toys for her to play with.

Usagi explained to the other senshi about both the youma who could regenerate after her tiara attack and the mysterious silver man who had saved her.

"He was silver?" Rei asked incredulously.

"He came from a silver ray. I couldn't see him very well. He just killed the youma and told me to be careful before he left."

"Where was Tuxedo Mask?" Makoto asked.

"Late. It was all over before he arrived."

"Was he distracted?" Ami questioned.

"Maybe the silver man is just quicker or lives closer," Artemis suggested.

"Can you describe what you did see?" Ami asked. Usagi described what she had told Luna.

"Energy waves?"

The next day, Usagi got her math test back. 70% "Good Improvement," her teacher wrote on it. She typically got 30%

"It's still a C," Usagi growled. She got to Crown where her friends were waiting.

"I still can't believe you passed your math test!" Rei exclaimed.

"Could you be any louder?" Usagi questioned.

"I'm sorry. It's just you never really tried before, which is why I get fed up with you. I know you're not dumb. You just don't apply yourself well."

Usagi couldn't really argue with that. She had just been so busy before. She didn't feel like she had time to study. Well she had time, but she needed to unwind. Without Mamoru, she had plenty of time to study. She had also lost her appetite for video games.

Motoko sent a free milkshake to Usagi. "I hear a congratulations is in order."

"You shouldn't have."

"Don't be silly. You'll get one for every passing test."

"Now, I'm going to get fat," she teased.

Mamoru came in and started chatting with Motoki. Usagi didn't say anything to him at all. She just slipped out when it was time to leave. She thought about telling him about her test, but she knew what he would say, "A passing grade. Maybe you'll get a good grade next time." He was always so critical.

She and Minako walked home together. They both heard a shrill and then transformed in an alley.

"Venus Love Me Chain," Sailor Venus attacked the youma, which then split into two youma both advancing quickly.

Sailor Moon launched her tiara, but that only slowed them down a little bit as they evaded it. Again, the flash of silver appeared. The mystery man appeared and killed the youma.

"Well, at least you weren't alone this time," he said as he left.

Tuxedo Kamen made no appearance at all.

The girls changed back and went home, Usagi wondering who this man was and Minako wondering why didn't their attacks work at all.

Usagi updated Luna on the latest sighting of the silver man.

"It's odd that we never saw him before these new youma appeared," Luna said.

"What do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they followed him here. Maybe he chased them here. They must be connected somehow because he can kill them and for some reason, you and Venus can't."

Usagi shrugged. "I have no idea why."

Usagi didn't get any answers for the rest of the week. She didn't see any youma nor did she see the silver man.


	3. Pushed into His Arms

The next week, she came to Crown with her friends.

Rei was talking about her new manga.

Usagi looked at her with a pout.

"You still can't borrow it," Rei told her.

"But why?"

"Because you messed up everyone I've let you borrow."

"Not everyone!"

"How many times do I have to say no?"

"But you always say yes in the end if I wear you down," Usagi said honestly.

Rei scowled. "USAGI is banned from reading Rei's manga."

* * *

Diamond walked in just to hear that remark. So Usagi likes manga.

"Did you miss me?" he questioned with a wink.

"I did. You know, I had been waiting here for you all week. Now that you arrived, I can go home and shower."

"Haha! My Odango is so snarky."

"Your Odango."

"It's just a matter of time."

"It will take 1000 years."

"I can wait!"

The two continued their banter, not even noticing when Mamoru arrived with Chibiusa. "Who's that?" he asked with a frown.

"I don't know," Chibiusa told him. "I've never seen him before." The two went to play a game. Mamoru kept looking back at Usagi and this mystery man. He knew it was a risk she would be courted since she's single, but he didn't think it would be so soon.

Motoki came with their bill. Diamond put down his credit card.

"But you didn't even get anything," Usagi didn't think he should pay.

"Can I get a milkshake and fries?" he handed Motoko the card and the bill. "Now I have, Odango!"

"Oh, you're such a tool!"

"That is how you thank me?"

"Yes!"

"Well in that case, I'll take it as a compliment every time you insult me."

"Oh Lord!"

"I have her praising the Lord already. I knew I'd turn you into a believer."

Usagi rolled her eyes. The fries and shake appeared and he offered her some. She said she wasn't hungry, but then she ate half of them.

"I wonder what it looks like when you are hungry," he said with a smile.

She blushed. She had been trying to cut back, but they were so easy to eat.

Chibiusa approached. "This is what you call studying?"

Diamond looked down at the girl. "Do you normally get scolded by little girls?" he questioned.

"Just this one," Usagi sighed.

"She copied your hairstyle. Who are you, Odango Jr.?"

"As if. I'm Chibiusa, and who are you?"

"Prince Diamond," he answered with a laugh.

"Yeah, right! Are you taking me home after I finish my game?"

"I suppose I have to," Usagi retorted.

"Good because I'll be ready to go soon!" she went back to her game.

"Tell me that little girl doesn't dictate your life."

"She tries."

"Is she always so…?"

"Annoying, rude, bratty, yes she is."

"That's kind of harsh," Rei said.

"It sounded accurate to me," Diamond said under his breath.

"I don't like him," Chibiusa said to Mamoru when she reported back.

"Was he mean?"

"Not exactly. " Chibiusa couldn't describe why she didn't like him, she just didn't.

"Ready to go?" Usagi asked.

They started walking home. "What's with that Diamond boy?" Chibiusa asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Haha! No. He's one of Minako's friends."

"Is he her boyfriend?"

"No! Why are you so worried about who he's dating? Do you have a crush?" Usagi teased.

"Ew! No. I don't like him and neither does Mamo-chan."

That rubbed Usagi the wrong way. "You don't know him and neither does Mamoru," not that his opinion mattered.

"I know enough," Chibiusa insisted.

"Was it because he didn't just roll over for you like everyone else?"

"You're mean!" Chibiusa ran off into the house.

Usagi rolled her eyes. "What a brat!"

* * *

Diamond noticed the boy who kept eyeing Usagi while they were talking. Minako told him he was Usagi's ex-boyfriend and the girl was her cousin.

Diamond was now even more determined to get Usagi's affections. With her ex prowling around, she might not be available for long.

A couple of days later, he "happened" to be passing through when Usagi was walking to school. "How about I drive you?"

She looked over. He had a BMW. Nice! "Oh thanks."

She got in the car and he hit the gas pedal. "This is a nice car you have."

"Her name's Naoko. She's the longest relationship I've ever had."

"Haha! Well, treat her right or she'll find a better guy."

"Oh I always treat my ladies right! See you later Odango."

She got out of his car. The other girls noticed.

"Diamond drove you to school?" Rei questioned.

"He happened to be passing through."

_But he lives on the other side of the city_, Minako thought to herself.

Usagi went inside, thinking nothing of it. The other girls looked around nervously.

"What if they really fall for each other?" Rei said what everyone else was thinking, but no one else wanted to say.

After school, they met at Rei's jinja. They had nothing new to report on the silver man or the youma. "We still are in the dark about this," Luna said.

Usagi was ready to call the meeting early. "Should we adjourn?"

"What, why?" Makoto questioned.

"We don't have anything to discuss. We know nothing. I could be doing homework instead."

"Homework or seeing Diamond," Rei muttered.

"What did you say?" Usagi actually hadn't heard her.

"What is going on with you and Diamond?"

"Nothing. Where did that come from?"

"You two flirt like crazy!" she accused.

"And he drove you to school today," Makoto added.

"And you are supposed to marry Mamoru," Ami added.

"I do not flirt with Diamond. He flirts with me, and he flirts with every girl he sees. I'm not special. He offered me a ride and I took it. It's not like we did anything. He just talked about his car and I know I'm supposed to marry Mamoru, but he's a stupid jerk who dumped me. What do you want me to do? Kidnap him?" Usagi rambled.

The girls were silent. "We're just concerned," Makoto offered.

"I know you are, and I am too, but I can't make Mamoru love me. I just have to be patient, which means you do too!"

The meeting ended shortly after that. Usagi needed a milkshake and went to get one. She saw Motoki.

"Where are the other girls?"

"Still at Rei's. I needed a milkshake."

"One coming up!"

Mamoru saw her. "Where's your boyfriend?"

Usagi looked up. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Good!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Did he say that out loud? "I just meant you could do better."

"Like a jerk who insults me all the time, then tells me he loves me and then says never mind, oh wait, I already tried that," her voice filled with venom.

He was digging himself in deeper. "You insulted me too, and I didn't throw a failing test grade at your head."

"Not that you would care, but I'm passing my tests now."

"That's nice to hear. Maybe you'll get into college some day." He didn't mean it exactly how it sounded, but Usagi left in a huff. She was crying so hard. Why was he such a jerk? She didn't even see Diamond until she ran straight into him.

"I'm sorry!" she blabbered. "I didn't see you."

"There's no reason to cry," he said as he pulled her into a hug. His body was warm and muscular. He clearly worked out. "Now what did your stupid ex do?"

"How did you know it was Mamoru?"

Deductive reasoning. "I saw you walking away from Crown where I know he hangs out and who else there would say something that would make you cry?"

"He's just such a jerk. He said he loved me then he said he didn't and then he got mad when he thought we were dating and then he told me I could do better when I said we weren't. Who is he to tell me whom I should date? Dating him was a mistake." Usagi wasn't sure if she meant that, but she meant it right now.

"He's just a dummy who realized what he had too late. So what if he dumped you. Why would you want to date a jerk anyway? Unless the jerk is me."

"You're such a tool."

"Can this tool at least treat you to a milkshake?"

"I already walked out on one today!"

"Then it's already made." Sure enough, when they came back, Motoko had her milkshake.

"It's a little melty. I can make you another one."

"That's okay."

"Hey, you already made me pay for it," Mamoru complained.

"Too bad," he still gave the milkshake to Usagi.

"Can I get a milkshake and fries?" Diamond smirked at Mamoru, you idiot.

Mamoru was seething, but he knew when he was down. He just wanted to get out of there, quickly. He muttered an excuse to Motoko and left.

Usagi actually did have fun with Diamond. He did some of his voice impressions. He actually did a pretty good Chibiusa. "I'm a little girl and I have pink hair, so you should do what I say!"

"Haha! That actually sounded like her."

"Don't tell her," he whispered in her ear, tickling her.

He drove her home afterwards. "I know it's soon, but can I take you to dinner on Saturday?" he asked the girl. "I'd like to get to know you better."

"I'd like that too," she said. She was done crying over Mamoru.

"Nice car!" Shingo yelled as Diamond drove off. "Who was that guy?"

"A friend of mine. Minako introduced me to him."

Usagi was all excited about having a date with Diamond. Past his playboy exterior, he was actually sweet and he was cute and he had a great car and dinner. Oh she didn't know what to wear.

She got a text from him later that night. "I got your number from Motoki. The restaurant we're going to on Saturday is a bit upscale. A black dress would be perfect."

Upscale? Her. She was used to burgers and fries. She looked in her closet. "Mom! Can I borrow a black dress?" She didn't want to ask any of her friends. She wasn't planning on telling them about her date.

Her mother, luckily, had something in Usagi's size. "Are you going out?"

"A friend invited me to dinner. It's a family owned restaurant," she fibbed.

"Oh, how nice. You'll have to tell me how the food is."

Luna was suspicious. "Are you going on a date?"

"Yes, and please don't tell the other girls yet. I'm having a hard enough time about Mamoru and Crystal Tokyo as it is."

"I won't, but if it gets serious, you'll have to tell them." Luna thought Usagi should figure out who she is and dating someone other than Mamoru might help her figure things out.

"It's just a get to know you dinner," Usagi defended.

"Well, alright."

Usagi had a pip to her step all of Friday. Her friends noticed, but she insisted all was normal.

Minako knew it was romance and she could also tell it wasn't Mamoru or else Usagi would have said so. To confirm, she went to see if Diamond was free this weekend. "We can hang out on Friday, but I have plans on Saturday," he said. Minako then suggested a sleepover on Saturday and only Usagi couldn't make it. Hmm!

They made it Friday night instead, pizza, makeup, gossiping. Usagi felt like herself again, actually, she felt better than she had in a long time. Chibiusa, of course, crashed the party and got annoyed when they talked about boys. "Ew, boys have cooties."

"You like Mamoru and he has the most cooties," Usagi insisted.

"He does not. You take that back!"

"Make me!"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Good one Usagi!"

The girls went to sleep one by one. Usagi was looking at the stars. Minako went to join her. "So what are you doing Saturday night?"

"Well…." Usagi didn't have a lie ready. Damn! "I'm going to dinner with a friend."

"Is this friend a Prince?"

Usagi blushed. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not, and I'm not surprised, but why didn't you tell the girls?"

"Because they were already freaked out when it was just flirting."

"So now you admit you were flirting."

"Ugh. It's just, Diamond acts like a tool but underneath it he's sweet and I was so infatuated with Mamoru, but he's just proving to be a jerk."

"Follow your heart," Minako insisted. "We'll figure the rest out."

"I hope so." Usagi insisted.

Saturday came and Usagi got help from her mother on her hair. She decided to go with an up do instead of her normal odangos.

Her mother even lent her a diamond necklace. "Now don't lose it. You look great Usagi."

"Thanks Mom!"

* * *

Diamond picked her up at 6:30 but the reservation wasn't until 7:15. He assumed she'd need extra time getting ready. He arrived with lilies, and chocolates. "The chocolates are for you Mrs. Tsukino."

"Why thank you? You're …."

"They call me Diamond, but my given name is David."

"Well, hello Diamond!" He was a cutie.

He handed the flowers to Usagi. "Shall we Odango?"

"Thank you," she said as she put them in a vase, "and I'm ready."

They got in his car.

"You didn't have to do anything with your hair," he said.

"You don't like it," she frowned.

"Oh no! I do like it. I just didn't want you to think you had to change it for me. I love your odangos."

"Oh, well I wanted to do something different."

"I will love your hair no matter what you do to it."

"Even if I dyed it purple and wore it in giant spikes?"

"Even if you shaved it into a Mohawk and carved I love diamonds in the side of your head."

"You're such a jerk."

"Why thank you!" he laughed. She loved his laugh, so assured and carefree.

They got to the restaurant and it was fancy. There was a line to get in, but he was considered a VIP so they skipped it. They were seated quickly to an outside table on the balcony.

"This is gorgeous," she said as she looked at the sun setting.

"Nothing compares to you," he murmured in her ear. The waiter brought menus and explained the specials.

She looked at it. There were no prices. How would she know what things costs? She didn't want to run up the bill.

"Don't worry about a thing. Order until you are content. Also, if you get a burger, they come with bottomless duck fat fries."

"Bottomless fries!" She looked. They had gourmet burgers, all with kobe beef and she could get truffles, mushrooms and Saint André cheese or a blue cheese burger with caramelized onions or a spicy teriyaki burger with pineapple and fried onions on it.

"I recommend the mushroom burger, if you would like a burger," he said. He had been to this restaurant a few times, and he thought that was the best one.

She was surprised to see a fancy menu with burgers and fries on it but maybe she should be more adventurous. "It sounds tempting, but maybe I should try something new."

"That's what the appetizer is for." Very good point.

She decided to get the tuna tartare, whatever that was, and the truffled mushroom burger. He got calamari with the steak frites, getting filet mignon.

"How would you like your burger?" the waiter asked.

There are options? "Cooked?"

Diamond chuckled. "He means how cooked, medium, medium rare, well done."

"Oh, medium I guess."

"And your steak sir?"

"Medium rare."

"Perfect."

"I want my burger cooked," Diamond teased.

"Oh you baka. No one ever asks me how I want my burger cooked. They run a kitchen. Shouldn't they know how to cook it?"

"Haha! You're so cute, Odango."

"I don't even have my hair up like that right now."

"Nope, you're always Odango."

She blushed. The sommelier brought them each a glass of sangiovese.

"To you Odango," he said as he raised his glass.

"Why to me?"

"Because you were silly enough to agree to go out on a date with a jerk like me."

"Haha!" she said dryly.

Their appetizers came out quickly. She spooned some of the tuna onto her crostini. "It's good." There was mango, capers, mayo and a little mustard in the dish.

He bit into his calamari. "Perfect. Would you like some?" He spooned some on her plate. She thought the tentacles were weird, but they tasted really good. "What is calamari?"

"Fried squid."

Her eyes got big. "How is something so slimy and nasty so good?"

"Well, I think they cooked away the slime."

"Shut it you jerk!"

"I'm taking them back," he chided.

She popped the calamari in her mouth, too late.

He snickered.

The entrees were somehow even better. "Now this is a burger." She was so excited by it that she forgot about her fries until the burger was done. She bit into one of them, fried in duck fat, coated with garlic and Parmesan cheese and an aioli sauce to dip them in. "Now this is heaven!"

They got to know each other more. Diamond had graduated high school at 16 and was working before he went to college to save money and since he was a teacher, he could take classes at the school for free and hopefully the credits would transfer wherever he went.

"You must be smart to have graduated so early."

He shrugged. "It was more discipline than anything else. My parents died, so I was determined to save as much money as possible so I can take care of my brother."

"I'm so sorry."

"You didn't kill them, did you?" he raised an eyebrow.

She froze.

"Just kidding. My mom had cancer and my dad had a car crash. It was rough, but it made me and my brother Sapphire even closer."

"He's named after jewelry too!"

"What can I say, we're just shimmering jewels."

"Oh Heavens!"

"Shall I bring your more fries?" the waiter asked Usagi.

"Yes please, and more of that dipping sauce. I ran out with the first plate."

"Of course."

Diamond was still working on his first place. He was impressed with how much the small girl could eat. Where did all of that food go?

After another plate of fries, well two more plates of fries for Odango, they got dessert. She got the donuts and he got the flourless chocolate cake.

"This dinner was the best one I ever had."

"Was it because of me or the food?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"The food duh! Well, you were alright, I guess."

"Oh, you wound me Odango. I guess I'll have to take you out again to impress you with my charm."

"I guess you will."

He caught her lips, swiftly kissing her before she had even known she was being kissed. He managed to put his entire soul into it. Once the shock wore off, she kissed him back, her hands in his hair as he pinned her to the side of his car. His hands roamed her back, teasing her sensitive flesh as they shared the same breath. Finally, they broke for air.

Her heart was pounding and an unfamiliar feeling was making its way up her thighs. He gave her a knowing smile and kissed her again, this kiss softer and shorter but the damage was done. She was infatuated beyond belief.

"Shall we?" he ran his fingers along her face. She nodded and he drove her home.

"Good night Odango," he kissed her cheek as he saw her father looking through the window.

She went inside. "How was dinner?" her father asked.

"Delicious. The food was out of this world." She ran upstairs, changing for bed.

"Where did you go?" Chibiusa questioned.

"I went out to dinner."

"Who would go out with you?"

"Someone who prefers mature company and not a whiny little girl." Usagi put on her nightgown and washed off her makeup. She returned her mother's jewelry and dress and then she went to sleep.

She had pleasant dreams all night.

* * *

The next day, Minako invited Usagi to brunch. She had assumed all of the girls would be going and said yes, but when she got there, it was just Minako.

"It's just you and me."

"You want to hear about my date."

"Duh!"

Usagi giggled. The two girls got a table and started chatting.

"I want to know every detail."

Usagi told them, well most of them from the flowers and the chocolates for her mom to the delicious food and wine to his silly antics and the amazing kiss.

"On a scale of 1-10 how amazing was this kiss?"

"15?"

"15, that high off the charts?"

"I didn't know a kiss could do what this one did. My heart was pounding. I was dizzy. I almost overheated."

"Whoa! And how high did Mamoru get on the scale?"

"I thought he was a 10, since he was my only kiss but now maybe an 8." He could kiss but not like Diamond

"Whoa and he downgraded the ex. So you're going out again."

"Yes. We haven't decided when, but I want to see him again."

"That's so exciting." Minako was happy for her friend, although a bit peeved that she had seen him first. Of course he wanted Usagi; she was just so full of love. "Have you thought about when you're going to tell the other girls?"

Usagi had a panicked look on her face. "I don't know. Can it be never?"

"If he keeps meeting you at the Crown, people will notice."

"You're right, but I know what they'll say, especially Rei. 'You're being selfish. You're ruining the future.'"

"Maybe you're just learning what to contrast Mamoru against. Think of it as an experiment."

"For science!"

"For science!"

The girls laughed and toasted their orange juice.

Minako was already on the search for a new crush. "I've seen a couple of cuties, but no one who's really caught my attention yet."


	4. Study Date, Study Fate

Wednesday

Chibiusa was meeting Mamoru at the arcade. Usagi reluctantly said she'd walk her there after school. Diamond was picking her up there anyway. "Are you coming over to Rei's after school?" Makoto asked her.

"I said I'd bring Chibiusa to the arcade."

"Great. We'll all meet there."

"Uh!" Makoto was gone before Usagi could say anything, like she wasn't staying. She picked up Chibiusa and they started walking. Usagi walked quickly, hoping to get away before the girls saw her.

"Can't you slow down?"

Usagi sighed and walked more slowly. Of course, the girls had beaten Usagi there. Chibiusa ran off to Mamoru and Usagi sat down. The girls started blabbing about some concert next month. Usagi saw Diamond's car. Crud! "I need to use the bathroom." Usagi went, past the bathroom and climbed out a window. She was half way out when Motoki saw her.

"What are you doing?"

"I uh!"

"Never mind. What should I tell the girls?"

"I went home sick?" Usagi thanked him with her eyes and bolted.

Diamond saw her coming around the corner. "There you are. Shall we?"

She walked on his other side, using him as a shield as she got in the car.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great!"

He took her to a new ice cream shop on the other side of the city.

"The owners just moved here from Italy and they have been making ice cream for over a decade."

They had traditional flavors as well as some new ones, like salted caramel and White Russian ice cream (Baileys and Kahlua flavored).

"Can I get two scoops of the white Russian?" Diamond ordered.

"Can I get a sundae with the moose tracks?" It looked decadent.

Usagi's bowl had everything she wanted, whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel, and real cherries as opposed to the nasty jarred ones.

"This ice cream is so good," she said, whipped cream all over her lips.

Diamond laughed as he wiped it off with his thumb. "Only the best for you Odango."

"I feel like such a fatty," she admitted as hers was half gone.

"Don't be silly. Eat as much as you want."

He was so different from Mamoru who always seemed to have a comment about what she was eating or how much.

"You don't think I eat too much?"

"Who am I to say how much you should eat? For what it's worth, you look fabulous."

Before she could respond, he kissed her, his frozen lips almost sticking to hers from the ice cream. She felt both hot and cold at the same time and the chocolate mixed with the coffee flavors on his tongue making her head spin. He pulled back. "You're ice cream's melting."

"Can't let that happen." She continued eating.

* * *

While they were at the ice cream shop, the girls were at the arcade confused.

"She ran home sick?" Ami asked.

"Maybe we should check on her," Makoto offered.

"I think she's fine. It's probably a stomach bug," Motoki was sure that she wasn't sick and hadn't gone home.

"She does eat a lot," Rei added.

"You're right behind her," Minako quipped.

"I am NOT!" Everyone turned to look at her. "I mean I am not."

Eventually, Chibiusa came over. "Where's Odango?"

"She went home sick," Ami told her.

"She didn't even tell me."

"I think it was sudden," Makoto added.

"Mamoru, will you take me home!"

"Where's Odango?"

"Home sick!"

"Oh, well okay." He thought she had looked fine, not that he spoke to her.

Usagi knew she had to get home before Chibiusa did or her cover was blown. "Sorry to have to call it an early day," she said to Diamond.

"No, you need to study. My offer still stands if you ever want to study together."

"Maybe this weekend. Not the most exciting thing, but I have a science test coming up."

"Science is my specialty. How about we hit the books Friday and then take a movie break?"

"I like the way you think."

He gave her a kiss, not seeing her parents and pinned her to the door. "Good bye Odango."

Usagi slipped into the house. Shingo saw her. "Is he your new boyfriend?"

"Yes, and I need you not to tell Chibiusa or anyone else."

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't want any trouble with Mamoru."

"Whatever."

* * *

Friday Morning

Usagi was taking Chibiusa to school when she heard a voice in the distance. "Usagi, Chibiusa!" It was Mamoru.

"Mamo-chan!" Chibiusa gave him a hug.

"Do you want to come over for dinner and a movie tonight?"

"Yes! It beats eating whatever slop Usagi would make."

"Usagi would make you nothing," she hissed. Like she would cook for the brat.

"Can I pick her up after school?" Mamoru asked his ex-girlfriend.

"Sure, and you can take her to school now, so I won't be late." Usagi ran off, leaving the two behind.

"Should have seen that one coming," Mamoru said as he took the little girl with him.

"Can't he just call like a normal person," Usagi muttered as she ran to school, not that she wanted him calling her, but she didn't like being accosted on her way to school to talk about his lack of a social life. Seriously, he has nothing better to do than entertain Chibiusa?

At lunch, Rei asked what the girls were up to. Only Usagi had plans. "I can't do anything tonight. I have a tutor coming over."

"Haha! A tutor on a Friday night, get real Odango!"

"Seriously. I want to do well on that science test on Tuesday."

"A boy or a girl," Minako asked wondering if it was Diamond.

"A boy I don't know. My mom found him," Usagi lied.

"If he's cute, maybe I should get tutored too!" Makoto suggested.

"What happened to Keisuke?"

"I dumped him on Monday. He was too clingy."

"Sounds like a match in heaven," Rei muttered.

"Shut up!"

After school, Usagi cleaned her room, not wanting Diamond to think she was messy. "Laundry, put my manga away, make my bed and vacuum. How did I get so many cookie crumbs in here?"

Luna came home to see a spotless room. "Whose room am I in right now?"

"Oh Luna! I have a tutor coming."

"Really? Good for you."

The doorbell rang. Before Usagi could get it, Shingo answered the door.

"So you're the boyfriend?" he looked the man up and down. He was tall, fit, silver hair.

"I am," happy to hear that Usagi referred to him as her boyfriend. "You must be her brother, Shingo." He shook the boys hand.

"Yep! Are you the reason she's been acting so odd?"

"In what way?"

'Well first of all, she's been doing her homework. Second, she …."

"Shingo, I see you met Diamond. How about you go get pizza with your friends?"

"But I'm broke."

"Here's money," she handed it to him. "Bye Shingo!"

He got the hint and made off.

"Afraid he'd reveal your secrets," Diamond teased before he kissed her. Usagi moaned into his mouth, arching her back as his hands held her waist. Her body pressed against his, her soft curves facing his firm muscle.

"I have no secrets. I'm perfect."

Luna came downstairs as this did not sound like a tutor. She saw the loving glances. He must be Diamond.

"You have a cat!"

"I do, her name is Luna."

"Does she like being pet?" Some cats don't.

"Sure?" Usagi didn't actually know. She never saw Luna as a pet. Diamond scooped up the cat, his hands scratching her right behind her ears. She purred loudly for him.

"Isn't she a sweetie?" She rolled over in his arms. "So where did you want to work?"

"How about my room?"

"Perfect." He set down Luna and she ran upstairs, curious as to how serious things were with the couple.

Usagi showed him the syllabus. "I have to know everything we've done for the past month."

"Isn't it cumulative?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Doesn't this build upon what you did previously?"

"I guess."

"So we should start with what you don't understand."

"We need to start at the BEGINNING?"

"It won't be so bad Odango. If you work hard before the movie starts, I'll give you this," he pulled out a new manga. He didn't know which one it was, but the storeowner said it was popular amongst teenage girls.

"Get out!" she reached for it, but he put it back in his bag.

"Not so fast Odango. Study!"

"Ugh!"

He took out textbook. It was a general science class covering some biology, physics, chemistry and earth science. She was on the earth science portion, but in order to understand it, she needed to understand the other three sciences. "Let's start with biology!"

They only had four hours until they were supposed to leave for the movie and he knew he couldn't explain everything in such short time. He decided to see what she did get today, try and get through the rest of it tomorrow and focus Sunday on what she had done in school for the last month.

"Do you have your earlier tests?"

She was embarrassed to show them to him. "Don't laugh."

"I won't." She got them. Many of them were failed tests and were crumpled up. He smoothened them out and tried to discern a pattern.

He actually didn't laugh. She was surprised. He laughed at everything.

"I think I see your problem," he said quietly. "Science is about the process, how you get from one state to another. When you take your tests, you scramble to try and figure out what your teacher wants you to write, and you forget the steps along the way. It's the steps that matter. The final answer is less important than showing how you arrived there. Think of it like one of your mangas. The main character may get married. She might dump her boyfriend in the end and run off to live alone, but it's not the end result that matters to you. It's the story that was told along the way. That was the good part. The ending is like a finisher."

"I never thought about it like that."

"Your test is on earth science, but we have to go through the other sciences before we can get to it because you need to understand them to appreciate the story. If we skipped to Earth science it would be like reading a story but not being told about the world in which the characters existed."

He had her start reading the lessons in the textbook. While she worked on that, he wrote practice problems based on the tests she had already taken. His goal was to have her understand a few problems of each of the earlier units she had done and then several problems on the most recent unit.

She periodically interrupted him to ask questions. He was more than happy to answer. He loved to teach. He thought it was the ultimate test of his own understanding, and it was fun to see people get excited about science. It was cool if someone bothered to explain it to you.

Luna was impressed. Usagi was not just doing her current homework, but she was going back to understand the lessons she had failed before. The cat couldn't help but compare Diamond to Mamoru. Diamond had a patient tone and he explained things in a way Usagi could understand. Mamoru tended to be more closed off. "You haven't studied that yet. You wouldn't understand." Where Diamond was nurturing, Mamoru was paternalistic.

Luna didn't know what this meant for the future, but she thought Diamond seemed to be a better fit than Mamoru, although first impressions can be deceiving. Luna would not put Mamoru out of the running just yet. He and Usagi had many good times together and he was Tuxedo Kamen. He would protect her when she needed him, albeit not recently.

After a few hours, both Diamond and Usagi were hungry. "Did you want to get a pizza?"

"Maybe. Do you have any food in the fridge?"

Usagi shrugged. They went down to look. "Will your parents mind if we cook any of this?"

"I don't think they would care." They hadn't mentioned any special meals.

Diamond took out the ground meat, an onion, garlic, tomatoes and some herbs. "How about spaghetti and meatballs?"

"Uh, I can't really cook," she admitted.

"I'll show you."

He took out a cutting board put some water on the stove to boil. He peeled the onion and smashed the garlic with his knife. "Most good meals start with garlic and onion," he said.

He cut the onion in half. "You want to split it through the hairy side, so the onion doesn't fall apart on you while you chop it." He chopped the onion quickly, making perfect knife cuts. He put some oil on the stove and added the garlic and onions turning the heat on low. Once the water boiled, he put in the tomatoes.

"What are you boiling the tomatoes for?"

"To make the sauce."

"You don't just buy it?" She looked in the fridge for tomato sauce. The jar was almost empty.

"It's not too hard to make." Once the tomatoes were soft, he put them in ice water. "Once the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, can you peel them and chop them for me?"

"How do I peel them?"

"The skin will come right off."

She went to touch one, still too hot. She tried again later and the skin did come right off. She went to chop them and he put his hand over hers. "Watch your fingers." He moved her hand around the tomato, so her fingers would be out of the way. "People cut themselves by either holding food badly or chopping too fast, or both."

She cut the tomatoes. They were squishy. "Now what?"

"Add it to the garlic and onions."

He saw some red wine in the fridge and added it to the sauce along with salt and pepper. "Now we just put this on a simmer and it will reduce down."

He then started on the meatballs. He got a bowl and put the ground beef in adding salt and pepper, an egg, breadcrumbs, and a little oil. "You need the breadcrumbs to hold it together and the fat to make sure it's not dry." They formed perfect meatballs and then put them on a baking tray. He put them in the oven.

He took out one more pot for the pasta, adding salt to the water before bringing it to a boil. "Salted water so the pasta isn't bland."

He had a purpose for everything he did in the kitchen. Usagi wondered how his food would compare to Mako-chan's. It looked like it would be good, despite her involvement. She added the pasta when the water was boiling, adding the whole box.

"Hungry Odango?"

"Always!"

About eight minutes later, they strained the pasta, stirring in the now done sauce and then adding the meatballs. He found Parmesan cheese in the fridge and they added it on top along with just a bit more salt and pepper.

They sat down to eat in the dining room. "This is great." Usagi said. "I can't believe I didn't ruin it."

"How could you ruin it?"

"I'm a terrible cook."

"No, you're just inexperienced." The way he said it made her blush. "The more you practice, the easier it gets."

"You must have practiced a lot."

"It's just me and Sapphire, and he won't cook unless he's forced to, so yeah."

* * *

The other four senshi met up at Rei's. "I can't believe Usagi's studying and Ami is not," Makoto said.

Ami shrugged. "I've been studying for this test for a few days now. I'm sure Usagi just started today."

"She has been doing so much better now," Rei added.

"Who would have thought Mamoru dumping her would have worked out so well?" Minako commented.

The other girls stared at her. "What?"

"Well, it's true. She's more focused in school. She whines less. She's actually on time and she seems like she's handling it just fine. She's not weeping over him or anything." Minako couldn't add and she has a new hottie anyway.

"But what about Crystal Tokyo?" Rei hissed.

"They can still reconcile," Minako responded. "I just think this time apart has been good for Usagi. She needs to know that she can function without him if she has to."

"I agree, being overly dependent on a man is no good," Makoto added.

"I guess, but I was hoping they'd be miserable apart and figure it out. If she's fine and he's fine, what will bring them together?"'

* * *

Mamoru hated being away from Usagi. He did it for her own good, but she just thought he as a jerk or a jerk who can babysit Chibiusa so she doesn't have to. This Diamond guy seemed like a cad, overly flirtatious, driving around in a fancy car, throwing down his credit card all the time. Did he think he could buy Usagi's love?

_We'll work it out! We have to!_

Chibiusa loved this time with just Mamoru. Just him and me!

After dinner, Diamond and Usagi spent some time kissing before going to the movies.

"Will you be able to come over tomorrow?" she asked. She still had Earth Science to tackle as well as finishing up with physics.

"I can come over, or you can come to my place. I warn you, Sapphire will likely be there watching cartoons all day."

"Haha! He sounds like me."

"But you're much prettier," Diamond responded.

"Bye Luna," Usagi called before she left. At the movies, they had a choice between romance and an action movie.

Of course, Usagi wanted to see the romantic one and Diamond indulged. _Mamoru would fuss so much, but Diamond doesn't seem to care what we watch._

"You're sure you don't mind," she said, after he bought the tickets of course.

"I'm at the movies with you, Usagi. I'd watch anything, even if it was in Korean."

"Do you speak Korean?"

"No."

"Baka!"

They got a large popcorn and two sodas. "Can we sit in the back?" Diamond asked, wanting to kiss her without people fussing at them.

"Sure."

They found two seats in the back in the middle and sat down. Usagi watched the movie intently. Diamond tried to watch it, but he kept watching Usagi. He loved seeing her laugh at the awkward moments, tear up at the cheesy romantic ones and when the couple kissed on screen, he wanted to kiss her, to hell with the popcorn. He settled for putting his arm around her, kissing her cheek and nipping at her ear, caressing her face with his fingertips.

Towards the middle of the movie, a pivotal moment happened. The couple was having a major argument right before a steamy hookup. Normally, this is the part that Usagi was waiting for, but she found herself distracted by the man at her side. Their eyes caught each other at just the right moment and he managed to pull her into his seat. She sat on his lap, pressing her lips to his as they kissed with a ferocity that matched the actors. Diamond noted that this was the first time she had kissed him. He would never forget this moment.

He didn't break the kiss until he felt his lungs gasping for air. She reached for her soda and stayed in his lap for the rest of the movie. Diamond loved the closeness, but he started to grow uncomfortable with her on top of him, grow being the operative word.

She noticed his fidgeting. "Am I too heavy?"

"Of course not." You're just too attractive.

After the film, he kept his jacket in front of his waist, so she didn't notice anything.

He drove her home, stopping to kiss her before she went inside. "Goodnight Odango."

"Goodnight Diamond." For the first time, she noticed that he had a blush that rivaled hers. He quickly got in his car and drove off.

She was so sexy, but so innocent. Diamond wanted to simultaneously shield her from all evil and have his way with her in the worst way possible. _She's going to be the death of me._

Usagi noticed something of his was jabbing at her leg when they kissed. She could feel it when she was on his lap too. Did he walk around with a pipe or something?


	5. Now They Know

He picked her up the next day and she brought her books to his house where his brother was asleep. A purple dog with black eyes wagged his tail at the door. _So this is Odango! She's cute._

"Your dog is purple?"

"So is your cat."

"What's his name?"

"Trig." As soon as he heard his name, the dog came forward, wagging his tail as Usagi pet him.

"He's sweet."

"Like me!" Diamond teased. Trig rolled his eyes.

They started working on her homework. After they made it through physics and a month's worth of Earth science, Odango was in need of a break.

"My brain is going to explode with science."

"That would be fun to watch, but I'll miss you Odango."

"Silly but seriously, can we take a break?"

"Crown?"

They went to get a milkshake and of course, the other four senshi were there.

"Usagi. Diamond. What are you two up to?" Lita called to them.

"Just taking a milkshake break. Usagi and I have been studying."

"You're her tutor?" Rei exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I know some stuff."

That wasn't what surprised her. How did her mom meet Diamond?

"And you know Usagi's mom?"

"Yeah, she's nice." Diamond wondered why she had asked but he'd go along with it for now.

While Rei was trying to get to the bottom of this, Minako asked Usagi for a word. "So studying with a tutor last night?"

"I didn't lie. He did tutor me. We did science for hours. Instead of just this test, he retaught me everything we did this year."

"Whoa! Really?"

"Yeah, but then he made me dinner and took me to a movie."

Minako rolled her eyes. "So basically, he's the perfect boyfriend."

"Pretty much."

"Ugh! I so saw him first."

"You're the one who wanted to introduce me to him."

"And I could kick myself for that, but I'm happy for you, really. So how was the movie?"

"It was good. We saw the newest Leonardo Dicaprio movie, the romance and we shared the most amazing kiss during it."

"What was it like?"

"Like he was lava and I was melting into him. It was a bit strange though, he kept poking me."

"Like this?" Minako poked her with her finger.

"No, like he had a weird object in his pocket, like a pipe or something. It kept poking me while I was on his lap and when he kissed me goodnight."

Minako turned pink and laughed. "I doubt he carries a pipe in his pocket."

"Then what was it?"

Minako whispered in her ear.

"Whoa! You think so."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I feel awkward. I hope that didn't hurt him."

"He was fine. He shouldn't try to rush you anyway." Usagi was so innocent.

"He hasn't. He hasn't even mentioned anything like that."

They returned to see Rei grilling Diamond. "So what have you been doing during these 'tutoring sessions'?" She actually did the bunny quotes.

"Well, I threw her on her desk and ravished her and called it human anatomy." He deadpanned and then he laughed. "Oh, I got you good."

"You jerk!"

"Relax. We went over biology, chemistry, some physics, and then ate dinner."

"Our test in on Earth science," Ami pointed out.

"I know, but you can't build a house without a foundation."

Usagi and Minako came back. Usagi sat next to Diamond and he took her hand in his and held it. She blushed. She hadn't told her friends, but he didn't know that. Now, it looks like the secret was out.

"I got you a milkshake, fries and a cheeseburger. Did you want anything else?"

"No that's perfect."

He kissed her quickly, causing her friends' mouths to gape.

"You're dating!" Rei yelped, once she got her voice back.

"Well, I've also been tutoring her in love," he teased.

"Baka," Usagi growled at him, "and yes, he's my boyfriend."

Motoki put down their milkshakes. "Burgers and fries will be right up." So she has a new boyfriend. He seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Since when?" Makoto asked.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ami inquired.

"What?" Rei yelped.

"Our first date was two weeks ago," Usagi said, "and I didn't say anything because …."

"Sometimes it's nice to have a little secret for a while, especially when its something new," Diamond answered for her, making it up as he had told all his friends that Odango was his girlfriend.

Just when Usagi thought the awkward tension was over, mainly because her food had arrived and she was eating it, Mamoru appeared with Chibiusa.

"Mamo-chan, let's race," the girl said as she pulled his hand. His eyes didn't leave Usagi and he noticed Diamond sitting rather close to her. He reluctantly followed Chibiusa.

When he saw Motoki, he asked what the deal was. Motoki looked down. "They're together now."

Mamoru looked and saw Diamond kissing Usagi's cheek. He turned red with anger and balled a fist.

"Chill, she's your ex," Motoki warned, and you dumped her.

"So what are you doing after lunch?" Makoto asked Usagi.

"I still have to study, but I'm free this evening."

"Girls' night?" Ami suggested.

"Yeah, we want to hear your secrets," Makoto added.

She looked at Diamond. "Have fun Odango. I can bother my friends tonight."

"You have friends?" Rei hissed.

"I do. I know I'm unsavory, but I still was able to make friends. Surely, you can relate."

She got pissed.

Usagi snickered. "I haven' t met any of your friends. I haven't even met your brother."

"Well, he's a bum who was still asleep when you got to my house and is probably still asleep. How about you meet my friends next weekend? They wanted to go to some concert. I bet I can get us tickets."

"That would be fun."

Diamond went to the bathroom before taking Usagi back to his place. On the way out, he ran into Mamoru.

"Watch it," the ex-boyfriend hissed.

"Or else what?"

"Excuse me."

"You think you can intimidate me? You have nothing on me, Chiba. You messed up and you lost a great girl. Get over yourself." Diamond walked out without another word. "Ready to go, Odango?"

"Yes. Bye girls. See you tonight!"

Rei couldn't believe she had just replaced Mamoru. "Who does he think he is? He's messing up the future!"

"Calm down Rei," Lita said.

"It's not like he knows about Crystal Tokyo," Ami reminded her.

"But Usagi does. How could she do this?"

"She's so happy," Minako added.

"How did you not know?" Rei questioned. Minako had no answer. "You did know."

"She asked me to keep my mouth shut until she was ready. She needed to have someone she could confide in."

"You should have stopped them."

"How? Did you see their chemistry? She was never like that with Mamoru."

Speaking of the devil, he was eavesdropping on the conversation. Minako thinks Diamond's better for Usagi? No way!

"Like what?"

"Confident. She always seemed to be chasing after Mamoru, like she couldn't keep up. Diamond is on her level. Also, he sounds like he's a great tutor and she needs it."

"I think Usagi needs to figure this out alone," Ami said. "We can't tell her who to date."

"I agree. It's also just dating and she's 15. He didn't propose."

Rei sighed. There wasn't much to do, for now, but this wouldn't be good. How could Usagi be so stupid and fall for that playboy?

* * *

By the time Usagi and Diamond got back to his place, Sapphire was awake. He was sitting on the couch, eating a mixing bowl full of cheerios wearing just his boxers. "Sapphire, put on some clothes!"

"What? Why?" He looked up. "Oh crap! You never bring people to the house." Sapphire got up to go put on clothes.

Usagi was chuckling. "He reminds me of my brother."

"I'm sorry," Diamond teased. His younger brother scrambled to put on pants. He didn't bother to look for a shirt. Now to eat his cereal before it got soggy.

He ran down to get his breakfast.

"Well at least you have some clothes on," his brother chided.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly as he put his spoon down. "We usually don't have people over, especially not this early."

"It's 1PM," Usagi told him.

"I'm more of a night owl."

"More like a night manga addict," Diamond added.

"You like manga too!" Usagi was excited to hear that.

"Sailor V is my favorite."

"My friend has all of them, but she never lets me read the new ones. She says I'll mess them up."

"I have the whole collection upstairs," he told her. Minako would get a kick out of this. Diamond's little brother was very cute. He looked like a raven-haired version of Diamond.

"After you finish your practice test," Diamond told his girlfriend.

"Aw!" She had just come from a break, but he had all of the Sailor V manga for her to read. "You're so strict."

"I know. I bought you a manga and lunch. I'm the devil."

"You could be." She reluctantly got to work. Sapphire was more of a last-minute homework doer, so he decided to read comics in his room instead.

After two practice tests, Diamond relented and Usagi went to Sapphire's room to binge on manga. His room was like a library, filled with manga, anime and fan art.

One of them was Sailor V in a bathtub, surrounded by bubbles. "Where did you get this?"

"I painted it," he said.

Usagi was impressed. He was very talented. The painting looked just like her, even though he had never met her. "It's beautiful. I bet she'd love it if she saw it."

"You don't think she'd find it creepy? That's what Diamond said."

"I think she'd be flattered. I would be … I mean if Diamond ever painted me."

"Probably not. If he painted you, it would look like a Picasso."

"Haha!"

Sapphire could easily see how his brother had fallen for his Odango so quickly. She was cute, easily excitable and had this innocence that was just charming.

Diamond looked at the time. If Serena was having a girls' night, she'd have to go home and get ready. He went into Sapphire's room. "When were you supposed to meet your friends?"

"Crud! I forgot. I should get going." She turned to Sapphire. "Thanks for letting me read the new Sailor V."

"Anytime."

Diamond brought his girlfriend home. "Have fun tonight."

You too!" She gave him a kiss, expecting it to be a short one, but then he pulled her in his arms, holding her close as he sucked the air out of her mouth.

"Until we meet again, Odango."

* * *

On his way home, Diamond got a phone call. He answered it through the car. "Rubeus, what's going on?"

"Diamond. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I got a new girlfriend."

"Really? Bring her out tonight."

"She's busy tonight, but I'll bring her out next weekend. What's going on tonight?"

"We're playing pool. Esmeralda said she's gonna kick your butt."

"She can try."

"Bring Sapphire with you."

"When are you getting there?"

"Nine."

Usagi scrambled to get ready. She packed pjs, some snacks and her sketchpad. After seeing Sapphire's work, she had an itch to do more work of her own. "You coming Luna?"

"I have plans with Artemis, but maybe next time."

"Have fun." She only got to Rei's about 10 minutes after the other girls.

"So you did decide to show up?" Rei teased.

"I'm almost on time. Besides, this is fun, not work."

Usagi got settled in and then the rapid fire questioning began.

"So what was your first date like?" Makoto asked her.

"Is he a good kisser?" Ami asked

"How many times have you kissed?" Minako asked.

"One at a time," Usagi laughed. "Well, our first date was very nice." She told them about the dinner and the kiss they shared before he took her home. "I felt like I was on fire from the inside out."

"He took you to a four star restaurant for your first date?" Makoto beamed jealously.

"You got a burger and fries there?" Rei questioned.

"That was the best burger of my life!" Usagi had no regrets.

"Tell us about your other dates!"

"Well, he made me dinner last night and we went to a movie."

"He cooks too!" Mako-chan squealed.

"He's really good. He even let me help." Mamoru wanted her to have nothing to do with his kitchen.

"What did you eat?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs."

Rei looked at her. "Anyone could make that. Well, almost anyone."

"But it was the best spaghetti and meatballs I ever had, and he made the sauce from scratch. He said that next time we could make the pasta from scratch too."

"He makes his own pasta too!" Makoto was excited about that.

"He's already taken," Minako teased.

"All of this talk is making me hungry," she complained.

"Who are you, Usagi?" Rei questioned.

"Can we get a pizza?" Usagi asked, realizing she was hungry too.

"I meant I'm hungry for a man."

Usagi blushed. "You're so tawdry."

"How are you not, with that stud for a boyfriend?"

"I just don't …." Usagi was attracted to him, and his kisses made her desperate for more kissing, but she hadn't thought about doing more with him, or at least not consciously.

"Let her take her time," Ami said. "There's no reason to rush."

"You'll know when you're ready." Minako added.

Rei glared at Makoto, why encourage them to get physical.

"I'm ready," Usagi started before she paused, "to order a pizza."

Minako laughed.

Rei threw a pillow at her.

"Me too," Ami added.

They fussed over the toppings and finally decided on a small veggie pizza and a large sausage pizza.

While they waited, the girls shared gossip about the latest drama at their school. Two girls had gotten into a fight over a boy and both ended up with suspensions.

"Diamond, stop playing with your hair, let's go!"

Diamond was actually debating which shirt to wear. He settled on the black one. "I'm ready. Keep your panties on!"

They got in his car and headed for the pool hall.

Sapphire started messing with the radio. "What is with your presets?"

"I never bothered to change them when I got the car."

Sapphire found a jazz station. "Perfect."

By the time they got there, the others had all arrived.

"So you two do live," Esmeralda teased when she saw them.

Diamond had been busy with Usagi and Sapphire wasn't the most outgoing guy. He was fun when he decided to come out, but he often spent his time in his room, reading or working on his art.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Diamond teased back.

"Never!"

"Let's play. Losers buy the snacks."

Esmeralda got to break. She and Rubeus were solids, leaving the two brothers with stripes. They got their first two shots in, but then Rubeus got a scratch.

Sapphire went first, eying the blue stiped ball. He hit the white ball and it went around the blue.

"You missed!" Esmarelda hissed.

It bounced around before it knocked the green striped ball in the pocket. "No I didn't." Sapphire had decided the green was the better choice. He smirked. Now it was Diamond's turn. He went for the orange.

The first match didn't take too long. The brothers took the win.

"We always get stuck buying the snacks," Esmeralda hissed.

"And by we you mean me," Rubeus cracked.

"Maybe you should try playing better," Sapphire teased.

"Maybe you should try not being an ass," Esmeralda retorted.

"I tried, and I can't do it. It might be genetic."

They played another round, this time, Sapphire and Rubeus vs. Diamond and Esmeralda.

Again, Sapphire's team won, but this game was closer. It came down to who got the 8-ball first.

"You're just dead weight aren't you," Sapphire teased the girl.

"You're just dead."

"Oh, you wound me."

"So, Diamond. What's with this girl?"

"Oh, Odango's the best."

"Her name is Odango?"

"Her name is Usagi," Sapphire clarified.

"But she has her hair in these cute little odangos." Diamond could talk about her forever. She was beautiful and sweet, but she had a sharp tongue and a sarcastic sense of humor. "She also loves manga and food. I've never seen a girl so small eat so much."

"Man, you are talking off my ear," Esmeralda complained.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Where is Odango now?" Rubeus asked.

"She had a girls' night with her friends."

"So pillow fights in their underwear and talking about their boyfriends?"

"Pretty much."

"Hot!"

Esmeralda rolled her eyes.

Sapphire had stopped listening during Diamond's monologue on how much he loved Usagi. He started people watching instead, noticing the various kinds of people who appeared in the pool hall from the frat bros who want to think they're good to the amateur players who aspire to go semi pro to the work friends who are gossiping about the one guy in the office they didn't invite.

"Am I right or am I right, Sapphire?" Rubeus asked. When he got no return, he poked the boy's shoulder.

"What?"

"Yo, were you even listening?"

"No, I was people watching. What is it?"

"Girls having a sleepover, what comes to mind?"

"Pillow fights in their underwear, binge eating and gossiping about boys and on a related note, who's a slut."

"What is it with guys and imagining girls having pillow fights in their underwear?" Esmeralda asked.

Neither Rubeus nor Diamond could answer the question. Sapphire, to their surprise, had an answer.

"Well, there's this hope, however how small, that if girls are having a pillow fight, it will transform into a tussling match, which will lead to a hot lesbian kiss."

"Yeah, what he said."

The sole girl in the group sighed. "Boys, they're so weird."

After pizza, movies and gossip in between the movies, Usagi was beat. She didn't even make it to her sleeping bag. She just fell asleep on the couch during the end of the last movie.

As the other guests got ready for bed, Rei put a pillow under Usagi's sleeping head and put a blanket on her. "Sweet dreams Odango," she said before kissing the girl on the forehead.

She was unaware that Minako was watching her every move. The senshi of love quickly put her head down on her pillow before she was seen spying.

Rei went to sleep in her bed, frustrated that the one she wanted was so close and yet so far away. Usagi was always close by, but somehow unavailable. First, she was destined for Mamoru. Now, she's ignoring destiny for Diamond. Curse that playboy! If he could cheat the future, why couldn't Rei? Should she have tried sooner?

She grunted as she pulled her blanked over her head.

Usagi woke up feeling warm and snuggly on the couch. She tried to get out of her blanket and she fell on the floor, making a thud that woke up Minako. Makoto and Ami were already awake. "Ouch!"

"Did you just fall off the couch?" Rei teased as she came back with some tea. "You're such a klutz!"

"It's not my fault my feet got caught in this blanket."

"Next time, I won't give you one."

"I'm sure you won't."

"Is it time for breakfast?" Minako asked sleepily. If not, she wanted to go back to bed.

"It's almost time for lunch," Ami told her. It was 10:30.

"Brunch!" Usagi and Rei said at the same time, then they glared at each other.

After scrambling to get dressed, the girls made it to brunch. Usagi quickly filled her plate with breakfast sausage, pancakes, berries to go on the pancakes, syrup to go on the berries. It was a sweet and meaty mess.

"Are you trying to get diabetes?" Rei questioned as she looked at her plate. Rei's own plate was filled with bacon and eggs and she had a side plate of toast.

"You can't tell me what to do."

The two bickered over their food while the rest of the group shook their head.

"Will they ever grow out of it?" Ami sighed.

Minako knew they wouldn't for a while. Rei was snarky with Usagi to mask her deeper feelings. Only when she could be honest with herself would the two grow out of this.

Eventually, they started eating and talking about their upcoming plans.

"Going anywhere with Diamond?" Makoto asked her.

"He said something about a concert. Saturday, I think."

"What band?"

Usagi shrugged. "I don't think he said. His friends are going too."

"If they're hot, let us know," Minako added, "or better yet, introduce them to us."

After brunch, Usagi started to walk home. She was about half way there when she saw a shadow going around the corner. She quickly transformed and then started to follow it.

The shadow was a youma that quickly turned around. Sailor Moon threw her tiara at it and it exploded. "Finally, a youma I can actually destroy," it had been a while. She was about to transform back when three more youma appeared, blocking her in.

"Crud!"

She again launched her tiara attack, but this time, the youma were not vulnerable to it. She grabbed a trashcan, hurling it at the youma. While they were stunned to see trash flying at them, Sailor Moon ran for it. She only got away for two blocks before they surrounded her again.

"Be ready to be destroyed, Sailor Moon!" The youma charged. Usagi was frozen in fear. Just when she thought it was over, a silver light appeared.

The mysterious man launched himself at the youma, emitting an energy wave that caused them all to disintegrate.

"How do you always find me?" She asked the man before he could disappear.

"I can feel it when the youma are coming. Why they're coming for you, I don't know yet."

Before she could ask what he did know, he disappeared.

Sailor Moon changed back and then walked home.

"How was your sleepover?" Luna asked, curled up on Usagi's desk.

"It was fun, but I got attacked by youma again on the way home?"

"WHAT!"

Usagi explained what happened.

"He can feel the youma coming?"

"That's what he said."

"He must be very powerful."

"He is, which is why I can't figure out how none of us have heard of him before?"

Luna wanted to see this silver man. Maybe it would trigger a memory or something.


	6. Worried About the Future?

Tuesday

Usagi had spent most of Monday afternoon studying for her science exam. She had meant to get some work done on Sunday, but after the youma attack, she found herself too distracted.

She had wanted to call Diamond. He always makes her feel better, but he didn't know who she was or about the youma. She trusted him, but it was too early to tell him the truth. If he knew who she was, he'd know who the others were too, and she couldn't take that risk, especially if the youma figured out whom they all were.

Her test was third period. She reviewed her notes during the first two, pretending to be paying attention to the lecture. "Well, this is it." She said when she got to the exam room.

The exam was four pages. Usagi took Diamond's advice and read the entire exam before starting. She realized that part 3 was the longest, so she would have to do the other questions quickly to make sure she had enough time for it.

Part 1 was True/False and you had to write why afterwards.

The Earth is round. Usagi was about to say true, but then she remembered, _false because it is oblate. _The Earth is wider than it is tall.

The Earth's elliptical orbit causes our seasons. _False, the Earth's tilt causes our seasons._

Usagi made quick work of this part and part 2, which was matching. She skipped to part four, which was the drawing part, Usagi's specialty. Pick one of the following, volcano, fault line, or trench, draw a diagram of it and give an example of an existing one.

She decided to draw a volcano and Oshino was her example. She did a quick sketch of the body and put a magma chamber, ash, and flowing lava in her diagram. She also did the plate boundary under the surface that made the volcano. Now, time for part three, the short answer questions. They weren't hard, but there was a lot of them. Usagi was still finishing her last question when time was called. She sighed and put down her pen; hopefully that was enough.

At lunch, the girls all found a table and of course, started clamoring about the test. "I didn't finish it," Makoto admitted. "It was so long."

"I was surprised by that," Ami added. "It was a long test. I'm sure a lot of people didn't finish."

"I bet Odango didn't," Rei teased.

"Rei," Minako scolded.

"I didn't finish. I was on the last part of the question, so I only gave half an answer."

"Part 4 didn't have questions," Ami told her.

"I know. I didn't do the test in order. I did the easier questions first to try and make sure I answered as many of them as possible."

Everyone looked blankly at her. "What?"

"You had a strategy?" Ami was wondering when Usagi started thinking so much about her work. Getting her to study at all used to be such a struggle.

"It was Diamond's idea," she said. "I think it was a good one, but I guess I'll know when I get my test back."

"Of course it was," Rei muttered.

* * *

Usagi went to get Chibiusa after school. "I want an ice cream cone," the girl whined.

Usagi was supposed to drop her off at home because she had a meeting, but the girl kept dragging her feet.

"Fine, I'll get you an ice cream cone, but after that you're going straight home." She texted Ami, _I'm going to be late. I have to deal with Chibiusa._

She was just starting to talk towards the ice cream parlor when a black car pulled up. "Need a ride?"

"Diamond. If you don't mind a couple of stops, that would be great." Maybe Usagi would be on time.

"No problem." He unlocked the back door. Usagi got in the front.

"I don't want to get in the car," fussed Chibiusa.

"I'll give you five dollars if you get in the car," Diamond promised.

She hopped in quickly. "Where's my money?"

"You'll get it once I get you home." He wanted her compliance for the whole ride.

She scoffed.

Diamond took them to get ice cream and Chibiusa wanted two scoops, which Diamond was sure she would spill in his car. "Can you put that in a bowl?" he asked the employee. The ice cream man put the cone upside down in the bowl and gave them a spoon. Usagi went with the ice cream cookie sandwich and Diamond got the in-house ice cream bar.

He then drove them to her house.

"You drive fast," Chibiusa complained.

"I could slow down, and then you'd get to spend more time with me."

She scoffed.

He gave her the $5 once she got to her door. Then, he drove Usagi to Rei's. On the way, he asked her how her test went.

"It was not too bad. I didn't finish it, but a lot of people didn't. It was a long test."

"Well, I bet you knocked it out of the park. How about a celebratory cheeseburger tomorrow?"

"Or a sorrowful one," she retorted.

"Either way, I'm buying."

"In that case, yes."

He kissed her when they got to Rei's. He could never get enough of her sweet lips or their softness. "I wish I could join this club," he said as she got out the car.

"No boys allowed," she teased as she went inside. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime." And he meant that too. Every time he drove her somewhere, he got to see her cute behind as she walked away. "Worth it every time."

Usagi made it up to the jinja. She was only a few minutes late this time. In her rush to get inside, she fell on Rei.

"Get off of me, Odango!"

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist you," the girl teased, unaware that she would cause the senshi to turn bright red. She scrambled to get up. "Let's get started."

"The youma are targeting Sailor Moon," Luna announced. "She was attacked again on Sunday."

"They said they were coming to end me."

"But the silver man came again, who we still can't identify."

"He said he could feel it when the youma were here, but he didn't know what was their purpose."

"How do you feel youma?" Makoto asked.

"I have no idea. He disappeared before I could ask him anything else. He's more cryptic than Tuxedo Kamen was."

"Was? He's not dead," Rei pointed out.

"I know, but he didn't even show up to the last battle. It's like he gave up." Little did she know, Tuxedo Kamen had tried to get there, but there was always something in his way first. By the time he got there, the battle was over.

Wednesday

Usagi dreaded the return of her test. She had tried so hard. If she did poorly, she would be so ashamed. When she got to third period, the teacher said they would get their tests at the end. She then asked Usagi if she could stay after class for a minute. "Crud!" It was that bad? "Yes Mrs. H."

They went onto their final unit before the end of the year, earthquakes, and Usagi struggled to pay attention. She'd probably have to copy Ami's notes later.

"I was quite surprised when I got your test," her teacher said as she handed it back.

_91% WHAT? And the exam had a sticker on it._

"I didn't fail?"

"Of course not. This was a great exam, and it shows me you have a lot of potential, so I expect you to keep it up. Finals are only two months away."

OH LORD FINALS! "I will Mrs. H." She hoped she would anyway.

She got to lunch.

"So how badly did you do?" Rei snarked at her.

"Don't be mean," Minako scolded.

Usagi handed over the test.

"WHAT? YOU DID BETTER THAN ME?"

"It's better than I," Ami corrected.

"Ugh!"

"I guess Diamond is a good teacher," Usagi said as she took her test back.

"I wonder what else he teaches," Rei muttered.

* * *

Usagi picked up Chibiusa from school and took her to the arcade. "Now have fun."

"Whatever." Chibiusa went to the games. Hopefully, Mamoru would come today.

Ami had already arrived and was reading her book. Before Usagi said anything to her, Makoto burst through the door, "I just saw the cutest boy."

Usagi turned to her. "What, where?"

Mako-chan started telling her story. Of course she hadn't spoken to the boy or gotten his name, but she saw him at the pharmacy and he looked like he could be a regular. "I think he's a student at a school nearby. He was wearing a school uniform."

Diamond showed up next and greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. "I hear someone aced her science test."

"Thanks to you."

"I wasn't in the room." He kissed her head. "Ami, Makoto how are things?"

The quartet started talking and didn't even notice at first when Minako and Rei showed up. The two girls had been discussing Usagi's future. Rei thought Minako should be more concerned about Diamond's interference and Minako disagreed. "It's my job to help people find love, not tell them who to love."

"Can you tell me to love someone else?" Rei thought to herself.

Diamond got himself hot wings while Usagi ate her cheeseburger. The wings were too hot for her. "How do you eat those?"

He shrugged. "My mother cooked with a lot of spice. I just got used to it."

Motoki brought out Unagi's free milkshake. "Good job, Usagi."

"Thanks Motoki. How are you and Rina doing?"

"Great. We were just talking about what we want to do this summer. I think a road trip is likely."

"That sounds like so much fun. There are so many sights to see and foods to eat."

"Really, Odango, food?" Rei rolled her eyes.

"Yes. You really know a city's culture by what they eat." Usagi went back to her milkshake.

Mamoru came into Crown and saw Usagi with Diamond. Before he could ask Motoki for any info, Chibiusa found him. "Mamo-chan!" she yelled, ruining any chance that Usagi wouldn't see him.

"Hey, Chibiusa. What are you doing?"

"Play with me."

They started to race. "Usagi never races with me. She just leaves me with the coins."

"She should pay more attention to you."

"She could, if Diamond wasn't always in the way."

The scouts were laughing. Diamond had recounted a story about how his brother had been mobbed by a pack of young men when they had gone to the gay pride parade over the summer.

"Apparently, he didn't think wearing a sleeveless shirt and skintight jeans would attract men; also being called Sapphire probably didn't help."

"We should all go this year," Usagi suggested to the group, not even realizing that most of her friends were either lesbians or bisexual.

"That's a great idea." Minako was already thinking about what to wear during the parade.

"A lot of clubs that have events at night too."

"We're not old enough to get in," Rei reminded him.

"Most of the bars don't card pretty girls, especially when they show up together. Sapphire and I, on the other hand, have fake IDs."

The group continued to clamor on about the parade as it was next month.

They didn't even notice when Chibiusa came up. "Mamo-chan says you should spend more time with me!"

_Mamoru is a dolt_, Usagi thought to herself. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to go to the park. Can we go now?"

"But I'm hanging out with my friends. I'll take you tomorrow."

"I WANNA GO NOW!"

"Yelling, will not get you anything," Usagi told her. "If you calm down, I'll get you a snack, but if not, you're getting nothing."

"You're mean!" the girl ran off into the arcade.

"What's with her?" Diamond asked his girlfriend.

"I don't know. She never wanted to spend time with me before. She usually complains when I'm around."

"Maybe she's jealous?" Diamond offered.

"Of me, why?"

"You can go where you want, have friends your own age. She's kind of stuck with whoever will take her."

"You're right. I should help her get friends her own age. Maybe she could get a play date after school."

* * *

Eventually, Chibiusa came back and Usagi promised to take her to the park tomorrow. What Usagi didn't know was that Mamoru would also be there. Maybe they could get a spark or something.

When they got home, Usagi asked her parents if Chibiusa's school had an after school program or any clubs.

"They might, why?"

"I think she needs friends her own age. She's around older people all the time."

"We hadn't thought of that," her father said. "How insightful of you."

"She must have left friends at home," her mother added.

Like she said she would, Usagi brought Chibiusa to the park. "I packed sandwiches and I brought a football."

"Can you even play football?"

"Can you?"

The girls started to play. Chibiusa was not being annoying for once, well until she kicked the ball far away and made Usagi chase it. She ran it down and almost ran into Mamoru.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Can't I enjoy a nice day in the park?"

"That's for normal people. What are you doing here?"

"Ouch! I thought it would clear my head."

"Well, see ya!" Usagi took the ball and started to dribble it back to Chibiusa.

Mamoru hoped that would have worked better, not that he was sure how that would have happened. _Oh sure Mamoru! I'll dump Diamond because we ran into each other at the park._

After they ate their sandwiches, Chibiusa asked Usagi if she missed Mamoru. "I did at first, a lot, but now I think it's for the best."

"Because of Diamond," she said sadly.

"A little bit, but I have other reasons too."

Usagi could tell the girl was sad.

"Look, Mamoru cares about you and I do too. Just because we aren't together, doesn't mean you have to lose either of us."

Unfortunately, that was exactly what it meant.

"Let's go home."


	7. Concerts and Crushes

Saturday

Usagi wanted to get a new outfit for the concert tonight. "We're seeing Usher," she told Minako on the phone

"OMG YOU'RE SEEING USHER!"

"Don't break my ear drums."

"I love Usher. He's so hot. How much were the tickets?"

"I don't know. Diamond has mine."

"I'm so jealous. Take lots of pictures. We need to get you something hot."

They went to the mall and decided on a white shirt with a blue bodice and a black leather skirt.

"Do you think it's too low cut, Mina-chan?" Serena asked about the shirt.

"No, you look hot! Diamond's going to love it."

Usagi looked in the mirror. It did look good. "Okay then."

She got home with her clothes. Chibiusa was playing a game with Shingo. She would be having her first sleepover today.

"Are you excited Chibiusa?" Usagi asked her.

"Why am I going again?"

"I thought it would be fun for you, to have friends your own age to play with."

"But the kids in my class are boring."

"Maybe they're more fun outside of school. You won't know unless you try."

"Ugh!"

Later in the evening, Usagi got Chibiusa packed and took her to her "friend's" house. "Have fun!"

"Bye!" The girl ran inside.

"My daughter's like that too," the mother said to Usagi as she was leaving.

"Then they'll be best friends." Oh No!

Usagi looked at her watch. Crikes! She had to go get herself ready.

She took a shower, brushed her teeth, washed her face, put on her new clothes and her make up. _Hopefully, this isn't too much._ She heard her doorbell ring.

Shingo got it. "Usagi is still getting ready."

"I'll be down soon," she called from the stairs, waking up Luna from her nap.

"What are you yelling about?" She looked up and saw Usagi, looking, well, not like Usagi at all. "What are you wearing?"

"I'm going to a concert. What do you think?"

"I think your mother better not see you in that outfit."

She looked in the mirror. "I'll bring a jacket. Good call Luna."

Luna had actually been suggesting wear a different shirt, but oh well! "Have fun."

She came downstairs, almost falling when she saw Diamond. He was wearing a silver shirt under his black leather jacket and what looked like painted on jeans. How was he so hot?

"Way to klutz it Usagi!"

"Shut up, Shingo."

Diamond ignored the exchange, feeling the air in his lungs escape as he looked her up and down. She looked so fucking hot, like bend her over the railing and do her now hot. "Do you like my outfit?" she asked shyly.

"You look amazing." He gave her a quick kiss. "Shall we?"

"Yes. Bye Shingo."

"Whatever Klutz!"

"He's such a butt," Usagi said as they left the house.

"He's your little brother. Of course he's a butt. I think it's in the little brother's guide book."

"Sapphire's not so bad." He's actually pretty cool.

"He had to grow up fast. Back in the day, he was quite the butt."

"Haha!"

His friends wanted to grab drinks before the show. There was a bar down the street from the concert hall. Diamond parked his car in a garage and they walked inside.

"Just smile and we'll be fine," he said to her. With his arm around her waist, they walked to the bar.

* * *

The bouncer asked for IDs. He handed over his, and when the bouncer saw Usagi, he looked at her rack and let her go right in. Diamond wanted to slap the perv, but that was the plan.

He took Usagi's hand in his and looked for his friends. He could hear a woman yelling at someone. Esmeralda. "I hear them." He walked towards the voice.

He saw Rubeus getting reamed over something. The boy was looking for an escape. Here it was. "Diamond, you're here, and this lovely lady must be Usagi," the boy in the red tank top kissed both of her cheeks. "You look fabulous. What are you doing with a cad like Diamond?"

The boy was attractive, and a bit flamboyant. It became clear to Usagi how Diamond and the others ended up at the gay bars after the parade last year.

"He may be a jerk, but he's my jerk," she said as she kissed him. Esmeralda rolled her eyes, but even she had to admit, the girl was hot. Diamond had to resist the urge to grab her ass. He didn't want to be too forward with her; clearly, she was less experienced.

"Speaking of jerks, where's Sapphire?" Ruby questioned

"Brooding," Diamond answered. "Oh wait, I mean doing a new Sailor V painting."

"His paintings are good."

"They are, but he needs to get out there and meet real girls, not pine over one in a manga who he'll never meet because it involves leaving the house."

"Drag him out next weekend," Esmeralda said, "or maybe we should kidnap him and make him have fun."

Rubeus and Esmeralda got beers. Diamond wasn't drinking since he had to drive Usagi home. He said he'd get Usagi something if she wanted, but she had never had alcohol before and didn't know what to get.

He ordered her a mint julep.

"A mint julep?" Esmeralda looked at him. "Rubeus, take back his man-card."

"Shut your face, I love mint juleps!" Rubeus went to get one for himself.

Usagi took a sip. It was good. After their drinks, they got in line for the concert.

Once they were inside, Diamond saw there was a dance floor. The opener was playing.

"Let's dance." Diamond led her to the dance floor. His eyes locked on hers as he began to move on the floor. His hands found her hips and she followed his movements. His shirt had no sleeves, exposing his strong arms to her. She could see the muscle definition hinting under his shirt. She bet he looked like a god when he took it off.

Rubeus and Esmeralda went for another drink before the venue bar line got long. They came back to see the couple dancing away. "Damn Odango's lucky," Rubeus muttered as he sipped his beer. He knew his crush on Diamond would be unrequited, so he never said anything. He wanted his friend to be happy, and he looked very happy.

Esmeralda was annoyed with Diamond to say the least. Everyone except his dumb self could tell Rubeus was smitten with him. She wished they'd just air it out, but that would involve Diamond getting a clue.

She put down her empty beer. "Come on, let's dance Ruby!" She was the only one who could call him that.

They got on the floor, Rubeus scanning for any guys who looked like they also liked guys. Nothing yet, but hopefully something would come along when Usher was actually on stage.

The opening act was a local indie rock band, their music reminded Diamond of Fleet Foxes. It was fun to listen to, but not the best dance beat. That was what Usher was for.

Usagi usually felt nervous dancing in the crowd, but with Diamond, she felt great. She also felt a bit thirsty. "Can we get some water?"

They went up to the bar and got two cups of water. Usagi also decided to go to the bathroom before the band came on. When she came back, she saw Diamond talking to one of the bartenders. They had been talking about motorcycles. Diamond didn't ride himself, but his father had been a big biker and he still had the old man's bike. Maybe he should restore it.

The bartender offered them each a drink on the house. Diamond went with a soda and Usagi got another mint julep.

"Have fun kids," he said with a wink. Diamond left a tip for the man and they were back to the dance floor.

The crew was on stage, setting up the mikes and the lights and it would be some time before Usher would actually come on stage.

About twenty minutes later, a blue light filled the room. Usher emerged from a suspended rope. He jumped onto the stage. When he landed, the floor lit up and the floor's patterns matched Usher's dance moves. U Don't Have to Call started to play. Usagi started to feel warm from the whiskey and her hands started moving up to Diamond's chest. _This feels nice!_ She thought to herself.

He pulled her closer, their bodies mere inches from each other as they moved back and forth, in their own world. He could smell her perfume. She smelled like flowers and her hair smelled good too.

The next song was You Make Me Wanna. The soothing lyrics combined with Usagi's innocent gaze proved too much for Diamond and he pulled her towards his mouth for a kiss. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her to his chest.

She moaned into his mouth, the feeling of his body on hers was making her heat up quickly and her leg started moving outside of his, subconsciously trying to get some kind of friction.

Diamond could feel the heat emanating from her thighs. He wanted her so badly. He pulled away from her mouth, leaving her breathing heavily and wanting for more. They continued to dance, his hands on her hips, guiding her closer to his body. His thigh moved between her legs, and when he grazed her, she let out the most amazing moan, "OHHH!"

Her face turned pink as his lips moved to her neck, kissing and nipping at it as he pulled her hips forward, using his leg to create friction for her. The two writhed like they were in heat. Any inhibitions Usagi had were gone as she pulled him to her for another kiss. Her tongue plunged into his mouth, battling his tongue in a lustful exchange as his hands grabbed her ass and squeezed. She broke the kiss to moan again.

They didn't leave each other the entire show. The room only got hotter as they danced. They sweat so much that their clothes clung to their bodies, making his muscles very visible.

DJ's Got Us Falling in Love started to play. While the crowd watched Usher and his backup dancers as he moved across the stage, Usagi had eyes on Diamond. How was he even more attractive covered in sweat and with his hair all messy from her running her fingers through it? She felt her hips beginning to buck against him.

This is what lust feels like. She always felt awkward when her friends talked about sex. She hadn't understood the appeal, other than it being a special gift for her husband, but now she knew what it meant to want it for her. She wanted Diamond, but it was too soon. They hadn't been together that long, and before this concert, she hadn't done anything other than kiss. She was nowhere near ready to let him see her naked, much less do anything further.

Diamond liked having Usagi's eyes on him, but he realized she hadn't actually seen most of the show. He spun her around, so her back was facing him and he pulled her closer, grinding against her perfect ass as they both watched the stage. Now Yeah was playing. Diamond held back a grunt as he felt his Odango's hips moving backwards to match his movements.

Rubeus was having a great time. He hadn't found Prince Charming, but he did have fun people watching. "Look at that couple over there. The guy keeps checking out other girls and his girlfriend's getting pissed." Esmeralda looked up just in time to see the guy getting slapped.

"Nice!" They looked back. No sign of Diamond and Usagi. Then again, who could see them in such a crowd?

Usher ended the show with Scream. Usagi thought it was most fitting. Her hormones were raging. Diamond's hand kept teasing her stomach as his lips hit her neck. She started moaning as he nipped at her ear.

After the last song, they went to get in line. Usagi got a poster for Minako. Rubeus and Esmeralda saw them on their way out.

"Let's go clubbing next week," Esmarelda suggested.

"Drag Sapphire too!"

Diamond and Usagi walked to his car and he got ready to drive them home. He hadn't had any alcohol, but he felt wasted right now.

Neither of them said a word as he started to drive; jazz was the only sound coming from the car, but the air was filled with sexual tension. Diamond was still sweating like crazy. Once the sweat got in his eyes, he pulled over.

"I need a minute," he said as he reached for a towel, wiping off his eyes. Once he could see again, he drove her home.

"Thanks for tonight. It was a great show." She kissed him goodnight, a more chaste kiss than before. She didn't think she could handle another intense kiss that night.

"Goodnight Odango."

Usagi zipped up her jacket before she went inside.

She locked the front door behind her and got up to her bedroom.

"Ugh!" Luna said when she came in.

"What?"

"You smell like booze and sweat."

"Sorry, the concert was packed." Usagi took a shower before she went to bed. She made it a cold one. _I hear this helps._ The cold water hardened her nipples, instantly making them eager to be touched. _Maybe, not so much. _She dried off and put on her nightgown.

"Goodnight Luna!"

"Goodnight Usagi."

Diamond got home and he knew he needed a shower. The cold water his head, washing away some of the tension. He washed his hair and blow-dried it before going to his room. He closed his eyes when he went under his sheets, thoughts of Usagi floating through his mind. He reached for the lubricant that sits on his dresser.

* * *

On Monday, Minako wanted to hear all about the concert. Usagi handed her a shirt. "OMG Thanks Usagi-chan."

"I hope this makes up for not taking any pictures. I was too distracted."

"Was Usher that hot?"

"Diamond's the one who had me distracted. I couldn't stop looking at him." She turned pink recalling how flustered he had made her.

"What was he wearing?"

"He had this silver shirt that hugged his muscles, and the tightest jeans I've ever seen." Usagi sighed happily

"Who are you Mako-chan?"

"What about me?" the girl asked.

"Minako was saying that you two are both hornballs," Rei said snidely.

"Like you aren't Rei. I know what you keep behind your manga," aka her yuri hentai.

"Don't you dare!"

"Ohh! What do you keep there?" Usagi asked innocently.

"Nothing for Odangos!"

"AW! But I want to know." Usagi never found out what was behind the manga.

Wednesday

Diamond was on his way to meet Usagi at Crown. "Sapphire, do you want to come with?"

"Why? So I can be a third wheel?"

"She has four female friends that will be there, attractive friends, single friends, and did I mention that one of them looks like Sailor V?"

Sapphire came out of his room, "get the fuck out!"

"No really, she does. Actually I met her before Odango, but I didn't really think about it."

"Well, you better not be lying to me." Sapphire changed into a button down shirt. He went with blue.

"Come on! What are you doing? Putting on your lipstick."

"Shut up Diamond!"

The brothers headed for the arcade. By the time they got there, the five girls were already sitting down with Chibiusa, who was playing with a Gameboy. "This is great. Now when Usagi is rambling at me, I can focus on this."

"This is what I get for getting you a Gameboy."

"You didn't get it. You found it in the basement."

"Yes, and then I bought you batteries."

"Meh!"

"Hello, Ladies" Diamond said as he sat down next to Usagi. He kissed her cheek. "This is my brother, Sapphire. Sapphire this is Chibiusa, Rei, Ami, Makoto and last but not least, Minako."

She did look like Sailor V, only prettier. "Uh Hi!"

Minako took a look. He was cute and his blush was adorable. "Do I make you nervous?"

"No," he lied, his voice betraying him.

"I don't bite." She patted the chair. He sat down next to her. She even smells good. "So what do you do for fun?" She asked him.

"I like to draw, and paint and I have a manga collection."

"Do you. What's your favorite?"

"Promise not to laugh."

"I won't laugh."

"I have every Sailor V manga ever, and some fan art."

Minako found this endearing.

Rei was cracking up.

Minako glared at her.

"I promised nothing."

"You have them all too Rei!" Makoto started. "And behind the manga is …."

"Shut up about that!"

"Seriously, what's behind the manga?" Usagi was so curious.

"Her secret porn collection," Diamond teased.

"Fuck you!" she stormed off.

Chibiusa looked up. "She dropped an F-bomb!"

"What did I say? It was just a joke."

"I think it hit too close to home," Ami said quietly.

"Really? Oops. I should apologize."

"Seriously," Usagi said. "What is behind the manga?" She still didn't get it.

"More manga," Sapphire told her, feigning seriousness.

"Oh, how boring!" Usagi told him. "But why was Rei so upset then?"

Rei wanted to punch the wall but it was brick, so she didn't. She didn't even hear Diamond come up to her.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you. I thought only Sapphire hid porn behind his manga collection."

She glared at him.

"I mean everyone watches porn, well everyone except Usagi I think, but she's on her own pace."

Rei cracked a smile. "I just don't want Usagi to know about it," and possibly look at it.

There was only reason for her to care. "Because you like girls," and because you like Usagi.

"How did you?"

"Gay best friend. Anyway, she's not going to care either way. She thinks you're great."

"She does?"

"You should hear her. Rei's so good at martial arts and how does she get her hair so straight and shiny? It's like she goes out of her way to look good before she beats people up."

"Haha! Maybe I overreacted."

"Maybe, but it happens. How about we go inside and get some ice cream, on me?"

"Well in that case, I want a sundae."

They came back to Crown where the rest of the group was talking about something.

"We should go dancing," Makoto insisted.

"There's a club my friends wanted to go to on Saturday. The Verve," which happened to be one of the hottest gay clubs in Tokyo.

Rei was excited. Maybe she'd meet a hot girl there. "Let's do it!"

Diamond nudged his brother before they left. "You should ask Minako out."

"But I just met her."

"Not a formal date, but coffee or tea or a trip to the comic book store. Get in the game, bro!"

Sapphire hissed and then he almost choked on his water when it was time. He had a mini coughing fit. "Minako, did you want do something after school with me on Friday, like maybe go to the tea shop or the comic book store?"

"Sure." The two exchanged phone numbers.


	8. Hot Like Fire, Burns Like Hell

Friday

Minako had gotten a text from Sapphire. "Iroh's Tea Shop, 4:00?"

"Perfect."

"Getting excited for your date?" Usagi asked as she came from behind her.

"It's not a date, and yes, HE'S SO CUTE!"

"He is pretty cool. He's not very talkative in crowds, but when I went to their house, it was different."

"Phew! I don't know if I could do two hours in silence, actually I could if I could just admire his pretty face."

"Oh, the love doctor's got it bad!"

"He just different from any other guy I've met before."

"Well, I'm happy for you." Usagi wondered how he'd react if he realized he had a date with his idol.

At 3:30, Minako left the school and began walking over to the teashop. When she arrived, Sapphire was already there, drawing on his sketchpad.

The bell rang each time a customer came in. "Minako, I have a table over here."

She turned to see him, sitting by a table with a kit of pencils and what looked like a sketchpad.

She smiled and sat down. Sapphire flagged down the waiter and they ordered a pot of jasmine tea and a plate of tea cookies. She began telling him about her week. He finished his sketch of the owner and showed it to her. It was pretty spot on, the owner was a bit chubby with an unusual hairstyle.

"When did you start drawing?"

"When I was around 5. My mother got me a sketchpad for my birthday and a box of crayons, like a massive 72 crayon box. I never looked back." His mother had been a painter. When he drew or painted, he felt closer to her.

They started talking about the various art projects he had worked on over the past year. With Rubeus, he had done an interactive light and music display. "We set up a rectangle on the ground, and when people moved over it, the speakers would play a musical tone and a pattern would appear on the ground using colored boxes and streaks of light to match the tones." It had been set up for a week at their high school.

"I wish I had seen it."

He pulled out his phone and showed her a video. It was Rubeus dancing in the box, making all kinds of patterns appear on the ground. Behind this quiet demeanor was a brilliant man. Minako could feel the love he put in his art.

* * *

As they got to know each other, Usagi and Diamond were trying to handle Chibiusa and her new friend. The couple had agreed to supervise the play date. Usagi wasn't sure why, but it was important to her that Chibiusa like Diamond.

Right now, they were playing hide and seek. They had counted to twenty and the two girls were nowhere in sight.

Diamond said, "let's split up. You take upstairs, and I'll take downstairs." He thought it better if Usagi searched the bedrooms.

He started in the kitchen. He tried the cupboards and under the table. "Not here."

Next was the living room. He heard a sound. It came from under the couch. "Man, that couch looks like fun, I think I'll jump on it."

A girl came crawling out from under it. "Don't smush me."

"Aha! I found you."

"Drats!"

"How about we start making cookies and let Usagi find Chibiusa."

"Now you're talking."

Diamond had a chocolate chip cookie recipe memorized. He started to get out the ingredients.

Usagi had searched most of the rooms with no luck. "Either she's switching rooms, or she hid in my parents room." Usagi went into her parents' room. She searched everywhere, including the bathtub and no luck.

She went downstairs. "I can't find her."

"She's probably switching rooms on you. If we don't find Chibiusa," he said loudly, "we won't be able to let her taste the cookie dough."

The girl came running down the stairs. "Cookie dough?"

"Yep. Chocolate chip, coming up."

Chibiusa grabbed a spoonful and put it in her mouth. Tasty. She was starting to like Diamond, which was not good. If even she liked him, knowing he might ruin her existence, how could Usagi resist?

"Have you ever made ice cream?" Diamond asked the girls.

"No!"

"We have a science demo at the university next week. They'll be making liquid nitrogen ice cream if you want to come."

"What's liquid nitrogen?"

"It's so cold that it freezes most everything it touches. If you run your hand across it, it will vaporize instantly. You can use it to make ice cream in minutes instead of hours, like it usually takes."

"I wanna go," all three girls yelled.

"Haha! It will be great."

About 15 minutes later, they were all enjoying milk and cookies.

* * *

Sapphire insisted on walking Minako home.

"But you live on the other side of town."

"I'll just get my bicycle on the way back. I left it at my school." Sapphire couldn't wait until he could drive. He was old enough to ride a motorcycle but he needed to learn and Diamond didn't even know how to ride. They both thought they'd learn from Dad when they were older.

Youma watched from the distance, waiting for a chance to attack, but Sapphire didn't leave Sailor V's side until she was already home.

Saturday

The girls got ready at Usagi's house, all of them trying to figure out what to wear before they went out.

Other than the outfit Usagi wore last week, she didn't have very much in terms of nighttime fashion. "Maybe, I'll just wear a tank top and jeans."

"No way!" Minako argued. "You can't let yourself go because you have a boyfriend. You have to keep it hot." Minako brought over plenty of clothes. She got Usagi to try on a blue tube top and bootie shorts.

"I look naked."

"You look amazing."

"Rei, do you think I should wear this?" The girl turned around. Rei almost choked at the sight. She had no idea how sexy she looked.

"Uh! Duh-Dum!" Why of all people does she ask me for advice? Well, I guess asking the lesbian makes sense. Does she know what she's doing to me?

"Rei, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm uh fine."

"I'll get you some water." Usagi came back a couple minutes later with a glass of ice water. "I squeezed some lemon in it."

"Thanks Usagi." Rei wanted to pour it on her head, but she settled for drinking it.

Usagi reached to look for something. "Where did I put my lipstick?" She bent down to grab it. Her ass was in perfect view of Rei's eyes. "She's gonna kill me," Rei said silently.

"Rei, can you help me with my necklace?" Minako asked, saving the girl from her own hormones.

"Uh Sure!" Rei walked over to clasp it. "Why would you give her that outfit? Are you trying to kill me?" Rei hissed.

"Why? Whatever do you mean?" Minako answered coyly.

"Don't fuck with me."

"Look , we're going out to have fun. You should get dolled up too and find yourself a lady."

"Usagi can't wear that outfit." Rei said, not even realizing she raised her voice.

"You don't like it," Usagi squeaked, sounding sad.

"You look really hot, too hot. We're going to a gay club. You might not survive in that." Usagi had the most innocent eyes with a risqué outfit. All she needed was a tramp stamp and a navel ring and she would be pretty much every lesbian's wet dream.

"As long as they look and don't touch that's fine," Usagi said, shocking everyone.

"What?" said well everyone.

"It's flattering to be admired. As long as no one creeps on me, guy or girl, just looking is fine."

To think, Usagi was aware of her sex appeal and actually enjoyed it. What she really wanted, however, was to make Diamond go nuts for her. He left her so hot and bothered last weekend. She wanted a little payback. Little did she know, he had been just as flustered.

* * *

Diamond was getting ready in his room. He went with a button down shirt with the first few buttons undone, revealing that he actually did have chest hair. He also decided not to shave the stubble on his chin. He did, however, shave his mustache, so it didn't tickle Usagi when he kissed her. He was going for a manlier look tonight. He did not want to pressure her, but he did want to seduce her. He had to. She was driving him too fucking crazy.

He put on a spray of cologne and put in his tongue piercing. He hadn't actually worn it in a while, since he doesn't wear it when he's teaching. Usagi probably didn't know he even had piercings. He was going for it, as the sexy older bad boy.

Sapphire, on the other hand, was going for the clean-cut look. He shaved, actually he was hairier than Diamond, but only the brothers knew this. He put on a black polo with a blue camel on it and dark blue jeans, wearing a black belt and shoes.

He had on some cologne and a gold cross. It had been their father's.

"Diamond, let's go!"

They were picking up Rubeus and Esmeralda. Usagi said she'd meet them there, since all of the girls were going at once.

Esmeralda wore a purple dress and Rubeus went with a skintight red shirt that exposed his lean but well-defined arms and tighter than tight black jeans. He had an industrial piercing in his ear.

"Sapphire, you do live," he said as he got in the backseat.

"And he's got a girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Not yet, but she will be."

Esmeralda hoped this girl was better than his last. Sapphire's ex had dumped him when he was "too gloomy" after his father died. What a bitch? Esmeralda still gave the girl death glares whenever she saw her.

"So where's your girlfriend, Prince Diamond?"

"She's meeting us there with her friends."

"Are any of them hot gay men?" Rubeus hoped.

"No, but she has a hot lesbian friend. If you get with her, you'll both be batting for the wrong team."

"Fuck you!"

"We're going to a gay bar. You should be fine."

"Oh yeah, right."

They got to the club. They had been offered free shots as they walked in the door. Diamond should refuse. He would be driving home.

"You're not driving for another three or four hours," Rubeus, his dark angel, told him.

"But I'll be driving other people."

"Meh! If you're drunk, we'll get a cab."

That was a possibility. He downed the shot. "What was this?"

"Fireball whiskey."

It was more cinnamon than fire. Diamond got some water to wash the taste out of his mouth. He figured the girls would need at least 20 minutes to show up. The more girls, the more fashion emergencies. He texted Usagi and said they had just arrived. "Text when you get here."

* * *

The girls were just heading downstairs. They had a cab on the way. Ami was wearing an adorable light blue dress. Rei went with a red halter-top and she had borrowed Usagi's black skirt. She was going to wear jeans, but Usagi said, "if I can't wear jeans, you can't either."

Rei stuck out her tongue, but the skirt did show off her legs. She was taller than Usagi, so it showed a lot of leg.

Makoto was wearing a green tank and a white skirt, and Minako had on a pretty pink dress.

The five girls each looked stunning alone and together were a knock out combination.

"Bye Luna, bye Artemis." They called as they got in the cab.

"I've never seen them showing so much skin," Artemis said as he followed Luna upstairs.

"I couldn't believe Usagi's outfit last week either. What kind of places are they going?"

This kind of a place had a light up dance floor, go go cages, drinks all around and did drag shows on Thursdays and Saturdays. When they got there, there was a big line. They got in line to wait and then a man in a suit came up to them. "Follow me," he said. They did into the club where they didn't even get carded.

"My name is Antonio and I'm the night manager. Anything you would like, I am at your service." He smiled and then disappeared.

"What was that about?" Rei questioned.

"He probably is looking for club promoters," Makoto told her.

Usagi was texting Diamond. "Just got inside."

His phone buzzed and he read the message. He looked up and saw a crowd of girls. When they fanned out, he saw Usagi, well she looked like Usagi all grown up. Holy FUCK!

He started to approach, not saying a word to his brother or his friends. Sapphire noticed and followed him.

Usagi froze as Diamond approached, his eyes piercing through her as he got closer and closer. She noticed his beard coming in and his chest hair. Never had he looked so manly.

He had no words when he got to her. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, sucking her lip into his mouth and biting down. She whimpered in pleasure as she opened her mouth, his tongue made it's way in, gently caressing the inside of her mouth as his hands roamed her back. All he knew was desire, his own and hers, melding together as their tongues dueled.

Usagi was stunned by the cold metal in his mouth. _He has a tongue ring? _It felt amazing as it moved around her mouth. The two were lost in their own world, oblivious to all of their friends staring at them.

"Forgive my brother. His mind shuts off when he's around Usagi."

"What's his excuse the rest of the time?" Rei asked dryly.

"You look great, Minako."

"Thank you, Sapphire."

He introduced the girls to Rubeus and Esmeralda. "How about we get some drinks?" Rubeus directed them to the bar.

Diamond didn't let go of Usagi until they were out of breath. "You look fucking hot," he snarled in her ear, his tongue ring tickling it.

"I'm glad you like it," she giggled. "You can thank Minako. She made me wear this."

"I will thank her every day for this." Now where did everyone go?

He saw them at the bar but before they went over to join them, a waiter came by with a plate of shots.

"How much?"

"$2 per shot."

Diamond bought two and he and Usagi each did one. This one was rum instead of the fire whiskey. For being so cheap, it wasn't bad at all.

Usagi made a sour face.

"Let's get a soda to wash the taste out."

They went to the bar. "Can I get a coke please?" They shared the soda and Diamond felt a slap on the back.

"Time to dance." The room was filling up. Diamond and Usagi would be joining their friends shortly.

Rei felt like the air had been knocked out her lungs when she saw Usagi and Diamond embrace like there was no tomorrow. She wanted her friend to be happy. She was just said she wasn't the one to do it for her. After her second shot, she decided enough was enough. She was going to find happiness. She got to the floor and started to dance. Unabashed from the whiskey she had downed, she moved her hips salaciously, writhing to the music as her long locks flowed behind her.

The sight was enough to make many of the girls in the club go wild. One of these girls was Esmeralda. The girl didn't think she liked girls. She didn't think she liked anyone, but she couldn't keep her eyes off the raven-haired vixen. She danced with so much passion and freedom. Esmeralda wonder what it was like to feel the way that she moved.

Girls came and went, all trying to get closer to Rei, but she was paying them no mind. She just wanted to have fun and she was. She had a lot of tension and it was time to shake it out.

Speaking of tension, Makoto and Ami had been eyeing each other ever since they had gotten in the cab. Minako was hoping for a chance to push them together. When she was leading Sapphire onto the dance floor, she might have "accidentally" shoved Ami into Makoto, causing Makoto to catch her in a dip.

"Sorry, someone bumped me," Ami said.

"Not a problem." The two lingered in an embrace for a while.

"You can put me back up now," Ami said eventually.

"Oh, sorry."

The two girls blushed. Minako smirked. Excellent.

She turned to Sapphire, her hands finding his shoulders. He had nice shoulders.

She started to sway her hips to the music. He nervously kept his arms at his sides. Minako guided them to her waist. "Isn't that better?" she whispered into his ear.

"Yes," he said breathily, now inches from her face. Her eyes kept his frozen in time, like they could stay this way forever.

Rubeus found strong hands on his hips. He looked over his shoulder to see a taller man behind him with large biceps popping out of his polo shirt. The man had green eyes and dark hair "You're just my type," the man hissed into his ear. He sounded cocky and sure he would score tonight.

"And you're mine." Rubeus loved playboys. Diamond, you have been replaced.

Esmarelda was glad to see Rubeus finally with someone, but whom was she supposed to make sassy comments with? She turned around and Diamond was dancing with Usagi, well some might call that dancing. Esmeralda thougt they were just dry humping.

Diamond's hand raked Usagi's back, sending chills down her spine. The alcohol was encouraging both of them to be a bit handsy. Diamond loved that Usagi loved his tongue ring. He used it to tease her neck. She moaned loudly, enjoying the cold metal and his hot tongue against her flesh.

Sapphire blushed as he saw his brother all over his girlfriend. She seemed to be enjoying it very much, but their moves were quite vulgar, especially Diamond's hands, which kept roaming up and down Usagi's stomach.

Minako, on the other hand, was itching for Sapphire to touch her. She knew he was shy and she didn't want to make him anxious, but he was so dreamy and smelled so good. How could she not want him to touch her? He just seemed so innocent. She wanted to corrupt him. She pulled him closer, arching her back to press herself against him. He grunted as he felt her breasts smash into his chest. He looked down at her, lust filling her eyes. His brain felt dead, but his body took over for him. He gently touched his lips to hers and then he pulled back.

"I wasn't too forward was I?" She hadn't kissed him back, but he didn't give her much of a chance to either.

"Not at all." Before he could say anything else, she pulled him by the collar, smashing their mouths together for a hungry kiss. His heart started pounding in his chest. He felt like he had somehow been pining for this girl his whole life and here she was. Little did he know how true that was.

Esmeralda was just about to approach Rei when she heard a yell!

* * *

15 Minutes Earlier

Mamoru did not want to go to a club. Unfortunately, he said he'd go because Rita and Andrew were on his case about having no life. "Usagi moved on, you should too!"

They didn't know about the future, but maybe, if he met a girl, Usagi would get jealous and want him back. When he got to Verve, he noticed a lot of gay men in line.

"Is this a …?"

"Yeah, we're meeting a friend of Rita's here."

Well straight women often befriend gay men, so maybe there will be hope in this club and little competition. He went inside and the place was packed with patrons, go-go dancers in cages, waiters with shots for sale. Mamoru bought two. Motoki was driving anyway.

They made their way through the crowd, looking for some guy when Rita said, "Isn't that Ami?"

She was dancing with Makoto. If they were here, than Usagi was too. Mamoru started looking for her. The two girls had gone off on their own, so he didn't see Usagi at first. It wasn't until he went back towards the bar that he saw her.

WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE WEARING?He had never seen her wear something so revealing, especially not in public. She was only 15 and wearing a tube top and booty shorts. The only thing more troublesome than what she was wearing was what she was doing. Diamond's hand was on her lower back and she was bent over, grinding on him like he was fucking her.

Mamoru watched in shock, confused, hurt and angry that she was so wanton with her new boyfriend. They had just started dating. Are they already fucking each other? She leaned back upwards and then turned over her shoulder, pulling him into a sloppy kiss, for all to see.

Diamond turned her around. When his hands went into her back pocket, Mamoru really lost it.

"GET OFF OF HER!" he yelled, trying to pull her away.

His strong grip was hurting her arm. "Let me go!" she kicked his shin, making him wince in pain.

"What's you're problem?" Diamond quickly got between Usagi and Mamoru before he could touch her again.

"My problem is you brought here to a club, what so you could show her off like she's a whore!"

Before Diamond could respond, Mamoru received a powerful slap to the face, from Rei. "How dare you! You treated her like crud. Broke up with her and now have the gall to call her out of her name because she moved on with someone else. If you don't stay away from her, I will end you!"

Motoki heard the yelling and pulled Mamoru away. "We found Rita's friend. Let's just go to a different club."

"I can't leave her here." She's not even old enough to be here.

"It's her decision and she clearly doesn't want to leave with you. I don't like her outfit either, but yelling at her in the club will not get through to her." Motoki actually thought the outfit was hot, but Usagi was much too innocent to be wearing it, well at least Motoki thought she was.

Usagi needed to get some air. "I"ll be back." She bolted. Diamond was about to go after her, but Rei stopped him.

"I think she needs a girlfriend right now. I'll go talk to her."

Diamond held back, mainly because if he ran into Mamoru outside, he'd probably fight him.

Usagi took a deep breath, the cool air feeling harsh on her lungs. She had been having a great time before her ex showed up. Is that how people saw her, like a whore? She just wanted to have fun with her boyfriend and her friends tonight.

"Talk to me Usagi-chan," Rei came up from behind her.

"I just, do you think I looked slutty on the dance floor?"

Rei could see the pain in your eyes. "Of course not. You weren't doing anything that the others weren't." That was a bit of a stretch but not too much of one. "He's just a jealous fool. He figured, oh we're destined, I can treat Usagi like crud, and then you went out and found someone better."

"Really? You think Diamond's better for me."

"I do. I've never seen you this happy before, or doing so well in school, and you've become less clumsy somehow. Mamoru didn't appreciate you. He just wanted a girl who was devoted to him. You're so much more than that."

"Thanks Rei-chan." The two girls hugged. Rei finally felt like she had let Usagi go. She just saw a friend right now, a really fucking hot friend, but a friend, nonetheless.

"Now let's get inside. I want to dance and I know Diamond wants to dance with you."

"Let's do it."

The girls came back inside. Diamond embraced her and kissed her cheek. "Are you feeling better, Love?"

"I am, thanks to Rei."

"Good, and for what it's worth, Mamoru was way out of line and totally wrong."

She pecked his lips. "Dance with me."

"Gladly."

He looked at Esmeralda and nodded at her. While the two girls were gone, he had encouraged his friend to make a move for the raven-haired beauty.

Esmeralda scowled at him and then looked over. Rei's dark eyes captured her. She couldn't look away. The beauty said nothing but her body said come here. Esmeralda moved closer, like a moth to a flame, she was hooked.

They started to dance, moving closer and closer but no words were said, just suttle flirtation with the eyes and the hip movements. Eventually, Rei spoke. "I'm a little disappointed. You haven't given me a cheesy pick up line," like all of the others.

"There are no words that will do." Esmeralda said. She really didn't have any, at least any that would form in her brain that she could say.

Her cryptic response intrigued the priestess. Before she could respond, an aggressive girl tried to pull Rei into a dance. Rei stepped back.

"What's your deal?"

"If I wanted to be manhandled by strangers, I'd work as a stripper at a frat party."

The girl muttered bitch and wandered away. Rei used to think that only men could be misogynists, but she was wrong. Plenty of lesbians felt entitled to sex when they came to gay clubs. Just because she was a female and having fun moving her body didn't mean that people could just grab her at will.

Esmeralda teased her, "Do you have a scent that attracts jerks because they keep coming into your vicinity?"

"It depends. Have I attracted you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm a jerk, but my friends would probably disagree."

I can relate to that, she thought to herself. "How would you describe yourself?"

"As a girl who loves candlelight suppers and nice walks on the beach."

"So you're a snarky little bitch."

"Haha! You caught me. Yourself?"

"I come from a similar stock."

"I like you already."

As the two girls got better acquainted, Minako and Sapphire took a break from the dancing and were relaxing on the balcony upstairs.

"It's so hot down there," Sapphire said as he lied down. "I don't know how people stay in there and don't take a break."

"This is better," Minako said. "We have more privacy." She rolled onto Sapphire and kissed him.

The cool air felt great against her skin as they locked lips. From what she had heard from Usagi, he had had a rough couple of years with his mother dying and then his father dying unexpectedly. It probably was why he was so reserved now. She just wanted to kiss the pain out of him.

**Lemons**

Usagi turned to Diamond. She had a look in her eyes like something ached. She tried to speak but the words weren't coming out.

"What is it?" he whispered against her ear.

"I'm really …" horny. She kissed him, pulling him closer so she could grind herself against his leg. He could feel the heat emanating from her.

"Do you want me to take care of you?"

She just whimpered.

He looked around, finding a closet and he whisked them both into it.

"Tell me if you want me to stop, okay," he said quietly.

She nodded. He started with her lips, giving her a quick kiss before he moved to her cheeks, down her neck and across her collarbone. His lips went down her stomach, reaching her shorts and he unbuttoned them, pushing them out of the way. She was so wet that her panties clung to her lips. The smell of her arousal filled the air as he pushed his hand inside her panties, moving them out the way as he started to rub her outer lips with his finger.

It was that touch that snapped her back to reality. "OH!" she moaned loudly. The touch made her feel like she lightening just about to strike. Her heart was pounding, her breath slow and heavy and her head was spinning.

He pressed his lips to hers to cover her sounds as his finger gently explored her mound. She was quivering, every touch a new one to her and when he grazed her clitoris, she bit his lip. He used his thumb to rub it gently and then started to slowly push his middle finger in her. She was tight. It was a lot of work to just get one finger inside of her.

She had no idea sexual activity would be so sexual. She knew biologically what would happen, but she never contemplated how it would feel to have someone else inside her, somewhere her doctors didn't even go. It felt amazing and very special between the two, a moment she wouldn't share with anyone else. She started to rock her hips forward, meeting his finger until she bit into his neck, letting out a growl.

She buried her face in his neck as she moaned for more. As he kept moving, her legs got weak and jelly-like. He held her up against the wall, her legs wrapping around him as he pumped his finger in and out. Soon, she let out a shrill against his neck as she started to cum. She gushed all over him, unaware that she would produce such stickiness. She was very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Making a mess."

"Sex is messy. It would hurt if it weren't. We'd be too dry. I'm going to go wash my hands."

Diamond licked one of his fingers clean on his way there. She tasted so sweet. He would need more, much more.

Usagi caught her breath before she left the closet. She felt disheveled and exhausted but very happy. No wonder Makoto is always looking for a man.

The club would be closing soon. They decided to leave 15 minutes before closing to avoid the final stampede.

* * *

Rei, Makoto and Ami shared a cab home. Diamond drove home everyone else. Alas, he would have no more alone time with Usagi for the night, since Sapphire was in the car with them.

He dropped of Minako first and then Usagi, kissing her goodnight before he continued home.

"So Sapphire's got a girlfriend!" Diamond teased.

"Shut up!"

"Dude, you got lipstick all over your neck."

The younger brother rolled his eyes.

* * *

Mamoru was piss drunk. He ranted angrily about Diamond and Usagi and how could her friends take her to a place dressed like that, but under all of the rage was fear and jealousy. Fear that she would never want him back and jealousy that she had never been sexual with him, as if Diamond offered her something Mamoru could not.

The thought of her having him in such a way made Mamoru sick to his stomach. Everything was falling apart because of those stupid FUCKING dreams. They ruined everything.

Motoki pushed his friend in a cab. "Make sure to take some ibuprofen before you go to bed."

"Whatever."


	9. How We Feel and Who We Are

One Month Later

Minako was excited. The gay pride parade would be this weekend and all of her friends were going. All she needed to do was set up Ami with Makoto, and how appropriate to set the up in time for the weekend, and everyone would be happily paired off. She had Sapphire, Usagi and Diamond, Rei and Esmeralda, Rubeus and Greg.

She had tried talking to each of them about their feelings, but Ami insisted they were just friends. Mako-chan at least admitted she had feelings for Ami, but she was so convinced they'd be unrequited that she did nothing about them.

"How do I get Ami to wake up?" Minako hissed to herself.

"What was that, Mina-chan?" Usagi came up behind her.

"Have you noticed anything between Ami and Makoto?"

"Other than their unrealized love for each other, no."

Well duh! Usagi. "Well, that's what I'm trying to fix."

"Oh." Usagi thought. "I got an idea. Let's get Motoki to flirt with Makoto in front of Ami and see if she gets jealous."

"Why Motoki?"

"He's always around. Rita isn't, so he won't get in trouble with flirting with Makoto a little bit."

"Hmm! Crown after school today."

Usagi and Minako got there early to ask for Motoki's help. He giggled. "You two are always scheming."

When Ami and Makoto arrived, Motoki brought a free milkshake to the brunette. "On the house," he said with a wink, causing Ami to clear her throat loudly.

They talked normally for the most part. Ami brought up finals and Usagi shrilled.

"But you've been doing well in school recently."

"And what if I regress during the finals. My teachers expect stuff from me now."

"You should have just stayed mediocre," Rei teased.

"I know, right."

Andrew came back with the check. None of Makoto's food was on it. He smiled at her. Ami was turning red.

Minako and Usagi nodded to each other.

Usagi asked Ami if she could help her study for their English exam. They had an oral exam and a written one and she needed to practice the speaking and listening.

"Sure. How about Wednesday?"

"Great."

* * *

Come Wednesday, Usagi went to her house. Her English speaking was just fine. She wanted to grill Ami about Makoto and this was her chance.

"Did you want to do vocab or have a conversation?"

"A conversation, since that's what the exam is, right?"

Ami: Hi Usagi, How are you doing?

Usagi: Great, and yourself?

Ami: I'm lovely thank you. What are you up to?

As the two conversed in English, Ami stuck to the topics that they had covered in class, food, places, pronouns. Usagi kept trying to change the conversation towards romance. _Do you have a boyfriend? Do you have a girlfriend? Do you have a crush?_

Ami: Usagi, none of this has to do with our exam!

"Well duh," Usagi said. "My English is good. I didn't come here for you to help me study. I came here to help you."

"Help me do what?"

"Realize your feelings for Makoto and do something about it."

"What? We're just friends."

"Don't give me that. You like her. She likes you. The gay pride parade is this weekend, therefore you should be proud and gay, together."

Ami tried not to laugh. "You are mistaken, Usagi."

"No I'm not. I saw how you were looking at Motoki for flirting with Mako-chan."

"That's because he has a girlfriend."

"Then how come you flinch every time Makoto mentions a boy?"

"I don't flinch."

"You do, and I know why she mentions the boys, to make you jealous. Seriously, just let your guard down for once."

"I can't. She's my best friend. What if it doesn't work out?"

"It might not, but waiting until it's too late will be so much worse."

Usagi called Minako. She told her about the breakthrough she had earlier

"Well, she admitted her feelings, but she won't act on them either."

"Ugh! I could just scream!"

"What do you want to try next?"

They bounced around ideas and out of desperation, Minako said, "Can't we just lock them in a room together until they get it?"

Usagi giggled. "I think we can, and I know just the room."

* * *

The next day, they sent word to Makoto and Ami that there was an emergency senshi meeting at Rei's. When they got there, Ami and Makoto were already there.

"I need to get something that's up high. Can you help me Makoto?" Rei led her to the room in the back. "It's on the back shelf."

While Rei was bating Makoto, Usagi was talking to Ami.

"Rei has all of these books back here. I wonder if any of them will help us figure out who is sending those stupid youma after me." None of the attacks caused her to be injured, but they still happened about once a week.

Ami said "what books?" when Usagi and Rei quickly left the room and shut the door.

Ami turned to open it. "Hey, it's locked."

"What?" Makoto turned around, having finally reached the book that was way in the back on top of the bookshelf.

"I think they just locked us in here."

"No way," she tried the door. "WHAT THE HELL GUYS!"

Minako came and slipped a note under the door. "We are not letting you out until you and Ami work out your feelings."

The two looked at each other, unable to speak. Makoto then started pounding on the door, screaming bloody murder.

Usagi put on some music and started reading one of Rei's new mangas.

Rei was much more cheery now that she had a girlfriend. She was texting said girlfriend. "Plan in action."

Minako was fine with listening to music until Makoto calmed down.

After about five minutes, the thunderous senshi gave up, sliding to the floor. She turned to look at Ami.

"So."

"So."

Neither of them knew where to start. Neither of them wanted to go first. Ami was terrified that somehow this would go wrong. Makoto was too scared to know of what she was scared.

"I don't know what to say."

"I don't either,' Ami admitted.

"I wish this didn't have to be so hard."

"What didn't have to be so hard?"

"Whatever this conversation is supposed to be." Whatever we're trying to be.

"I don't talk about my feelings," Ami admitted. "I never could. I don't know how to trust them. You can't test love like you can science."

"I think you can." Makoto pressed her lips to Ami and then quickly pulled back. "That was the first trial. What did you think?" Amy could have sworn that their heartbeats synchronized for that kiss even though that made no sense.

"I think we failed to calibrate and have to try again." Ami kissed Mako-chan this time. They continued with short sweet kisses, each one getting slightly longer until Makoto thought it was time to say something.

"So we have established we like kissing each other."

"I believe we have."

"Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?"

"Is this a date?"

"Yes."

"Then, I'll be there at 7."

Makoto called Usagi who was surprised that her phone was ringing. She turned off the music and answered it. "Yes, Makoto."

"We talked okay. Let us out!"

"Not so fast. And the results of that talk were?"

"We have a date tomorrow, so can you let us out now."

"Sure."

"Rei, can you let them out? They've resolved their feelings now."

Usagi set Rei up. She started running out the house as Rei went to open the door. Makoto charged out. "I will kill all of you."

Rei and Minako ran.

"Where's Usagi?"

"She already fled!"

"That Odango-atama!"

Usagi was running home when of course, another youma appeared.

She quickly transformed and tried using her moon crystal healing on it. It had no effect. "So there's no soul to save." This isn't good.

The youma reached down to earth, picking up a protesting Sailor Moon.

The other girls heard the commotion and transformed to help. More youma appeared

They tried a variation of attacks, but none of them were effective. Just when the senshi were surrounded by the youma, two flashes appeared. One was a silver light and one was a dark light. The silver man was back with a dark haired man. They quickly used their sonic waves to kill the youma.

The silver man jumped into the sky, catching Sailor Moon as the youma who had taken her disintegrated.

"Can you tell me your name?" Sailor Moon asked her silver haired rescuer.

"No, but I'll let you have three guesses."

"How could I guess your name?"

"I can guess yours, Usagi."

"How did you know that?"

"You don't know who I am. Maybe I can give you a hint." He pressed his lips to hers. She knew those lips from anywhere. "Diamond!"

"Yes, my Love, and can you guess who my companion is?"

"Sapphire?"

"Very good."

The girls were stunned. "So you two have been our rescuers?"

"Guilty as charged. I don't know why, but when Odango's in trouble with youma, I feel this weird pulsating feeling."

"I feel it too, well when Sailor V is near the youma."

They went back to Rei's jinja. Diamond drove, so he could get Luna and Artemis for the real meeting

"So you're the silver man?" Luna thought she was silly for not getting it earlier. Usagi starts getting courted by a boy. Youma appear. Mysterious boy rescues her from youma.

"I am."

"But I can't sense any power when I'm near you."

"I couldn't tell you can talk."

Touche.

"We don't know much about the youma, other than what we can sense. We have little proof of anything."

"How about you start with who you are and where you came from?" Artemis suggested.

Diamond took over. "So we're both from Nemesis, although we grew up in Tokyo. Our mother wanted us to have a better life than to grow up to be "haphazard villains" as she put it, so she had us adopted by our parents who we lived with until they died. We've only been to Nemesis a few times. We haven't been back in over a year. I don't know what the youma have to do with us, but I can sense their presence for some reason. Maybe I knew their souls."

Usagi shook her head. "No, I checked. The youma that attacked me had no soul."

"None at all, not even a bad one?"

"Just ash."

"Now that is odd."

"Actually that makes sense," Sapphire said. "If the youma aren't real youma."

"What?"

"How do you kill a shadow?"

"You can't," Rei retored.

"Exactly, which explains why your attacks didn't work."

"But your attacks did."

"I know, but we attack with energy waves. Light is energy and you need light to cast a shadow. So even if it is just a shadow, our waves can destroy it."

"So you think a shadow picked me up?" Usagi questioned.

"Not a typical shadow a dark shadow." Sapphire explained how some youma were only superficial. "They're to scare people, like a Halloween prank. They're like an illusion from Nemesis."

"That explains why Usagi never got hurt," Luna added.

"But who would prank her for months?" Makoto questioned.

Sapphire smirked. "I know, and so do you Diamond."

"What? I don't know."

"Think for once. Who do you know who is puckish enough to send bogus youma to manipulate people into doing what they want?"

Diamond frowned. "You don't think …."

"Remember when I told you I could sense something special about the youma. I thought it was their soul, but I think it was the soul of their maker."

"You think Mom is sending bogus youma to stalk Usagi."

"Your mother?" Rei squealed.

"Who else?"

"What would be her motive?"

"To get you two together. Didn't the youma start after you met her but before you started dating? Why are you the only one who can sense when Usagi's in trouble and how did you always get there before Tuxedo Kamen. Mother planned it that way."

"And you and Minako?"

"Same thing."

"But we are dating. Why keep sending the fake youma?"

"What do all mothers' want?"

"For their kids to stop asking for money."

"That's what all fathers' want. Try again."

Diamond thought for a moment. "For their kids to marry good people."

"And …"

"To get to babysit the grandkids."

"And, you butt!"

"What! Just say it."

"To have the son's girlfriend over for dinner."

"You think this was a dinner invitation in disguise. But it's so manipulative and convoluted and ridiculous, oh my God it was mother all along."

"Exactly. It also explains why the youma never came when we were already there. There would be no point if we couldn't make a dramatic entrance."

"Mother does love dramatic entrances."

"Who is your mother?" Luna asked.

"Queen Pearl of the Black Moon, officially," Sapphire explained. "There's a dispute over whether or not she's the ruler of Nemesis. Some people say it's Death Phantom, but he has no actual power, other than deceiving people with his words. Mom told me never to talk to him."

"Yeah, she says Death Phantom will only lie to you and show you events to confuse you into giving him your soul. He always leads to your ruin."

"What about your other friends?" Rei asked.

"Rubeus and Esmeralda are from Black Moon too."

"She didn't tell me!"

"Did you tell her you're Sailor Mars?"

"No," Rei admitted. "We should talk about that."

"Did your mother say why she wanted you to not be evil?" Luna asked him.

Prince Diamond. "She didn't tell me very many specifics. She just said I was destined to be better than a hack job villain like most of her other sons, so she wanted me to go to Earth and then when she had Sapphire, she wanted to send him too."

"Is your Mom a villain?" Usagi asked curiously.

"Um, I don't know exactly. I wouldn't call her a hero, but she's not evil. I think she's more of a meddler than anything else, which can be good or bad."

"Should we go to dinner? She must be really desperate to have us over for dinner if she had me stalked for like two months."

"I suppose we should visit Mother."

"Maybe she knows what to do about the future," Luna suggested.

"What about it?"

Artemis explained how Usagi was a reincarnation of Princess Serenity from the Moon Kingdom and Mamoru was the reincarnation of the Prince of the Earth Kingdom and they were supposed to be married 1000 years ago, but they both got killed so Queen Serenity sent them into the future, where they were to marry and then rule the Earth, but now they're broken up.

"Is that why Mamoru is so mad that we're together?"

Usagi shrugged. "Maybe, but he dumped me after he found out about our 'destiny'"

"My mom isn't one for destinies, but she knows a lot of stuff. She might be able to give you some advice. I must warn you. She doesn't lie, but she is not always genuine with how she explains things."

"Huh!"

"She has a way of saying things that are factually accurate, but also misleading," Sapphire clarified.

"Oh! She sounds like a hoot."

"She is."

They decided to visit the Queen on Sunday. Luna and Artemis, of course, wanted to come. They all did, and Diamond said he'd invite Rubeus and Esmeralda too.

Luna found the whole scenario so strange. "They're so nice, but they're from the Negaverse." She could feel that they were genuinely good, not just putting on a front, but how could they be good if they had dark crystals.

"Not all of the people on Earth are good," Usagi pointed out. "It would make sense that not everyone from the Negaverse is bad, even if it's rare."

"That does make sense."

Friday

Mamoru had been avoiding Motoki's since the club incident the month before. He decided that his exile had been long enough and he went to Crown. When he got there, he saw Chibiusa playing a racing game with Diamond.

"I'm going to win!" Chibiusa declared.

"No you're not." He did, in fact, let her win.

"Told you!"

"As a gentleman, I must admit when I am wrong. How about a milkshake on me?"

"Yeah!"

She didn't even see Mamoru at first. She went to the table. "I won the race."

Sapphire laughed. "Diamond, you're slipping."

"What can I do?"

"Try not losing."

Diamond was happy to see Chibiusa smile. It made Usagi smile, which of course made him happy.

"You need to stop letting her win," Usagi whispered in his ear.

"You're just saying that because she beats you on her own."

"Hey!"

"Just teasing, Odango. Of course, you let her win too."

"You're such a jerk!"

"I'm your jerk!" They shared a quick kiss.

"Ew! Cooties," the girl called out.

"Nope. We're both vaccinated."

As they ate food and finalized their plans for tomorrow, Mamoru went to talk to Motoki.

"So you do show your face in here again."

"Shut up!"

"Relax. Usagi hasn't even mentioned you."

"Thanks!"

"Isn't that better than Mamoru is such an ASS I hate him."

It could be, or it could mean she's completely over him. Is he no longer a blip on the radar? He was stuck staring at the group until he heard his name, "Mamo-chan!" It was Chibiusa. "Let's race. I'm on a winning streak."

He went to play with the girl, his heart feeling heavy.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading. We're approaching the half-way point on this story and shameless plugs. For any ATLA fans, I have a story, rated T, called The Crown, which is as the title suggests a saga involving a post-war battle for the crown of the Fire Nation, starring featuring Azula+ Haru (Harula) and eventual Ty Lee + Sokka, (Ty Lokka)


	10. King and Queen

Warning, this scene is mostly Limes. Not terribly crucial to the plot, but there is some connection.

Starting where the last chapter left off: Usagi's taking Chibiusa to her sleepover.

* * *

They got to the house.

"Thank you for having her over tonight."

"Oh, she's a doll."

"Be good Chibiusa!"

"Bye!"

Usagi snorted as she turned around to walk home.

Now, it was time to get ready for this bar crawl. She decided she wanted to wear bright colors since it was a pride parade and she went with a yellow dress with a pink scarf-like belt that went around the waist. She put on her feather eyeliner and some pink lipstick. Instead of her odangos she wore her hair down with a pink ribbon.

All she needed was her clutch and she was good to go.

Diamond picked her up along with Minako and Sapphire. Minako was wearing an orange top and white skirt. Sapphire had on his classic blue polo and jeans. He had learned his lesson from last year. Diamond, however, wore a silver sparkly shirt and was covered in glitter.

"Should I call you Edward?"

"I promised Rubeus he could pick out my outfit."

"Haha!"

They met the others at the first bar, which was Nori's. They turned in their tickets and got wristbands.

As expected, Diamond got a lot of attention from both men and women at the event. He laughed it off, keeping his arm around Usagi as they shared a drink. Neither of them wanted to be drunk. He had to drive and Usagi already got one hangover in her life and she did not wish to have a repeat.

Rei, on the other hand, was perfectly fine doing shots, especially when she got to do them off her girlfriend. Of course, the crowd was cheering when they saw her putting a shot glass in her girlfriend's cleavage.

"WOOOOOOOT! HOT!"

The next bar they went to sold cocktails by the pitcher. They picked a gin-based drink and a rum based drink and split the pitchers amongst the group. "I like the gin one," Usagi said. "What is it?"

"It's a Tom Collins."

"Who?"

"Just the name of the drink. It's American."

"Well, I approve."

"Are you drunk already, Odango?" Rei teased.

"Not as drunk as you are, Mrs. Bodyshot."

"How about we get some food before the next bar?"

They got wings and fries to tide them over until the next place.

They found themselves in Verve again. This time, they were having a King and Queen of Babylon contest. The winners get $300.

Rubeus went and signed up Diamond. "You will totally be the King."

"What is this contest?" He didn't even remember last year's.

"Just go up there and show off your dance moves. When they see you, you will win!" He didn't mention that Diamond would have to strip to his underwear.

"Maybe Usagi should sign up. She's going to be a queen," Esmeralda slurred drunkenly.

"She's too clumsy to win a dance contest. I could win!" Rei declared.

"I could win too!" Usagi had no idea if this was actually true. "I'm signing up."

"Me first." The girls ran to the front to find Queen Elizabeth so they could sign up.

Rubeus's jaw dropped. Oops! The Kings go first anyway, so if the girls want to bail, they'll have plenty of time.

Diamond knew he'd need a bit more booze to get through a dance contest. If all else fails, he could take a cab home and get his car tomorrow.

"When am I dancing?"

"In about an hour," Rubeus told him, Rubeus assumed about 5-7 guys and girls would enter the contests, or at least would take the stage.

"How about some shots?" They all did a round of tequila shots.

"I've never been in a dancing contest," Usagi told Diamond as they moved across the floor.

"The patrons are drunk and rowdy. They just want to see you shake your ass. If you can shimmy on top of that, you'll win for sure."

"Really? But Rei's really good at dancing."

"But she's not you, Love." He kissed her mouth. "You are clearly a queen."

He took one more shot before it was time for him to meet in the back.

There were outfits you could change into if you wanted. You had to strip down to your underwear? _What_! You CANNOT strip naked or the bar might lose its license. You can pick the song.

Diamond wanted to kill Rubeus, but he wouldn't back down. He was determined to be the king, and hopefully, his dance will excite Usagi.

"Can I go last?" Diamond requested. He wanted to be the only one the crowd remembered.

"Sure."

He looked at the clothes they had. He thought his outfit was pretty much a male stripper outfit anyway. He did go back and get his leather jacket from the coat check. He also grabbed his shades to deal with the stage lights.

Diamond sized up his competition. He had one guy who definitely juiced. Another guy who was a bit lanky and three who had decent physiques. They went for more cliche outfits, the cop, the fireman. Diamond was just going to be the badass.

QE came to announce the beginning of the King of Verve contest.

"First up, we have Jadite who likes walks on the beach, corgis and sex." Buttons by the Pussy Cat Dolls began to play. Jadite wore a suit and when the vocals came off, he started popping the buttons off his shirt. He left it on for now, taking his time as he moved around the stage.

Diamond didn't bother to watch his competition. It wasn't his taste to watch men stripping, and he didn't want to psyche himself out.

Usagi was not expecting Jadite to strip. This was a stripping contest? "What the hell did I sign up for?"

"I am not stripping," Rei fussed.

"Me neither."

"So you're both chicken," Esmeralda challenged.

"I'm a priestess!"

"I'm a princess."

"Diamond's going up there."

Usagi just realized he would be stripping in front of the crowd.

"Don't tell me your boyfriend is braver than you are."

"Of course he is, that's why he's my boyfriend."

"Rei, are you scared Usagi will beat you?"

_Like I would lose to that klutz._ "No because I'm winning. We're doing it," Rei told her defiantly.

"What? Are you nuts?"

"Don't be chicken."

"More shots?" Rubeus brought them. This would be awesome.

The other strippers danced to Nasty by Janet Jackson, Yeah by Usher and Supafreak. "Last but not least is Prince Diamond. He likes his car, his awesome girlfriend and dancing."

"Should he have announced that he's straight in a gay bar's stripping contest?" Rei questioned.

"Yes. Gay men love hot straight guys. They hope to be the one to change their minds."

Diamond decided he was going to go all out. There was no reason to dance like a timid straight guy in a gay bar, no matter what he was actually thinking. He walked out on stage with his sunglasses on and his jacket zipped up. Paradise City by Guns and Roses started to play. He started to move, slowly moving his hips as he leaned against the stripper pole.

He didn't try and go all over the stage like his predecessors. He wanted all eyes on him. He turned around, the crowd watching his ass as he started to unzip his jacket. He turned back around, pulling his sunglasses to the top of his head, so that people could see his red eyes. Whistles and screaming filled the room as he tossed his jacket to the side.

Diamond picked up the front of his shirt, but instead of taking it off, he pulled it over his head, exposing his pecs and abs, but leaving the silver shimmery fabric on him. His body was covered in glitter. He jumped on the stripper pole, spinning around as the crowd cheered him on.

Usagi was mesmerized. He was dancing for a crowd, but he was dancing for her. His eyes found hers and he never lost track of her as he moved around the pole. He slid down to the ground, doing a body roll before he reversed himself to get up. He undid his belt, but then refastened it around his waist. He started shaking his ass, letting his tight jeans just get to the edge of his hips. He turned around, giving them a little shove as they fell to the ground. He jumped out of them, back on the pole as he spun around again. He had time for one last slide and he took off his glasses, giving them to Queen Elizabeth.

The curtain closed. He took his clothes and was about to put them back on, when someone said after they announce the winner.

"Whatever." That's only 10 more minutes.

"You're boyfriend is fucking hot," Rubeus told Usagi.

She was still too frozen to speak. He was a god.

"I take it you've never seen him without his clothes on before," Rei teased.

"Shut up!" She had seen him in his boxers before, but it was different when he was on stage.

"And the winner is …. Diamond!"

The men rushed the stage, each of them eager to get ahold of the king. He smirked as he took his crown. Diamond put his pants back on but left everything else off. He sat on his throne. "Hello, my fellow Monarch."

"We still have to find out who the Queen of Verve is…"

Now the girls were cheering loudly. Usagi and Rei had been led to the back. Usagi was only wearing a one-piece outfit, so she couldn't really do a striptease in it. She saw a skirt and cowboy hat. She figured that and a pink tank top would be enough.

Rei was wearing a bodice over her shirt and a skirt. She was going as is.

"I already know what song I'm going to do," Rei said.

"What should I do?" Usagi asked.

"It's a competition. You have to think of it yourself."

"Meanie!"

Usagi had no idea what to strip to. Should she go with a rock song like Diamond? She doesn't know that many other than the Beatles and the Doors. Wait a minute. Touch Me sounds like it could be a stripper song. Why not? It didn't quite fit the cowgirl theme though.

"Can I go last?" Usagi asked, trying to buy more time.

"Sure."

"Copycat!" Rei hissed.

Usagi stuck out her tongue. Well, now that she mentioned it. She went out to Diamond and whispered in his ear. "What should my song be?"

He was surprised she was going to do it. He did it, so he couldn't say no to her doing it too. "How about Pour Some Sugar on Me?"

"That's the perfect song for me. I love sweets."

"Haha, you're so cute Odango!"

The first girl did "I touch myself." She was a bit clumsy, but once her clothes came off, she got plenty of applause.

"She's very bursty," Usagi commented.

"I think she got her bursts done," Rei retorted.

The next girl did Cherry Pie. She danced well, but she fumbled when it was time to strip.

Esmeralda was loving all of this. "I can't believe goody two shoes Usagi is going to strip at a bar. HOT!"

Rebeus was smiling. "I got my fantasy tonight! Woot."

"If Luna were here," Amy commented.

"Good thing she's not," Makoto retorted.

The third girl did Hot for Teacher and she actually did dress like a slutty school girl.

Sapphire couldn't believe that people did this in public. His brother did this in public. What the fuck?

Minako thought it was quite amusing. Sapphire was so embarrassed when Diamond started stripping. She thought his reaction was cute.

"Fourth, we have Rei. She's a priestess and she likes meditation, dancing and singing." Like a Prayer started to play. She had a smirk on her face as she moved around the stage. She knew exactly how to move her hips to bring attention to herself. Her long raven hair flowed behind her as she dipped and turned. She jumped on the stripper pole and went upside down for a bit. She knew Odango would only bust her ass if she tried to keep up with this, so she pulled out all the stops. Her bodice hit the stage as she spun around on the pole. Her shirt came off as she was doing a body roll.

Usagi was finding herself a bit excited by the show herself. "If I'm affected, who knows how the people who are actually into girls are doing. I'm in trouble."

She took a deep breath and drank her water. I'll just do my best.

Rei got a very loud boom of applause when she left the stage. "Good luck Odango, you're gonna need it."

"Shut up!"

"Last, but certainly not least is Usagi. She likes sweets and video games and manga." Queen Elizabeth gave her a giant lolly before she went on stage. "Trust me." Usagi tucked it in her shirt for now.

Pour Some Sugar on Me started to play. Usagi had a bit of stage fright at first. She timidly began to move her hips to the music. Her trepidation made her even cuter and the crowd cheered. When she heard that and not boos, she got more confident. She pulled the cowboy hat forward, using it to block her eyes from the audience. She bit her lip, carefully moving around the pole. She wasn't sure if she could jump on it and not fall, so she held onto it, dipping herself backwards as she moved towards the floor.

Diamond had turned his throne around to watch her. He felt like a king who had the most lovely dancer there to entertain him.

Usagi took the lollypop out of her shirt and started to lick it, slowly and teasingly, earning a lot of whistles and catcalls. She saw Diamond and turned to him. They made eye contact as she licked the lollypop. She sauntered over to him as the crowd roared.

Realizing how close he was to the stage, she hopped onto his throne, straddling his hips and doing a body roll on him, driving the crowd wild and making his heart skip a beat, or three. She traded her hat for his crown and then jumped back onto the stage and continued her dance. She had to remove her crown to take off her shirt, which she threw to the side stage. She turned around, her back facing the crowd as she began twerking.

The room was deafening. She had somehow transformed from an awkward girl to a vixen on stage.

Haruka and Michiru were watching. "Who is this sexy girl?" Haruka wondered. They had not seen her at the club before.

Usagi tugged down her skirt, letting it fall as she moved her hips back and forth before kicking the skirt off her ankle and then she did one simple spin on the stripper pole. She waved goodbye to the crowd and that was it.

She saw Diamond's jacket backstage and put it on.

The deliberations began. Usagi came back out to give Diamond his crown back. He grabbed her before she left, kissing her in front of everyone.

"Now that was a performance," he said as he let her go.

Queen Elizabeth came back. "And our Queen is … drumroll Usagi!"

"Hah! I beat Rei!" she yelled, making the crowd laugh.

"Shut up!" she hissed.

"And you said I couldn't dance." Usagi gladly took her crown and rejoined her boyfriend on her own throne. "I'm exhausted." She said after they had been up there together for a few minutes.

"Me too! Want to come over tonight?"

"Sure, I already told my mom I'd be at Minako's."

They left, well after they got dressed. Diamond needed a shower. "Join me," he whispered as he began kissing her neck. He led her into the bathroom walking backwards and then he made quick work of her clothes. He took his own off and turned on the shower.

She had never been completely naked in front of him, even though he's touched her all over with his hands. She told him she wanted to wait before they went "all the way" and he said he would wait until she told him she was ready. She was nervous. What if he wanted more tonight? What if she didn't look good naked?

His lips hit hers as he led her into the shower. "You're so beautiful," he told her as he kissed her neck. He washed her back and then her front with the loofa. She washed him next. This was relaxing once she got over the shock of it. He handed her a towel, and they went to bed naked and sleeping side by side.


	11. Meet My Mother

Sunday

Usagi woke up in Diamond's arms. She was thirsty. He did not want to let go, so she kissed him, waking him up before she pulled away.

"I'll be back."

He grumbled as she went to get water. She put a t-shirt on and went downstairs. On her way back, she heard a phone ringing. It was Diamond's phone, but Minako was calling.

"Hey Minako, what's up?"

"It's Sapphire. Can you come get me? Minako's parents came home early, and I'm stuck hiding in her closet."

"Aw! Sure, I'll get Diamond up now."

They had to go get him. Usagi created the diversion while Sapphire snuck out the side door.

Diamond dropped off Usagi at her house and then went home.

On the way, he started to talk to his brother about the facts of life.

"So things are pretty serious between you and Minako."

"What do you mean?"

"You spent the night."

"So did Usagi, and it's not the first time she stayed over."

"I know, and nothing happened last night, but it's better to be prepared before anything happens than to be scrambling at the last minute. Have you and Mina-chan talked about what you would use?"

Sapphire shook his head.

"I'll admit, it's not the most enjoyable conversation to have, but if you're ready to be in a relationship with someone, you have to be ready to talk about important things that affect you both."

"I can agree with that. So how did your conversation go with Usagi?"

"Well," it started off as a disaster. "She thought that talking about contraception meant I wanted to have sex like that instant and she kind of freaked out. Once I calmed her down and explained my point of view, it got a lot easier."

"Now that sounds like a great time," Sapphire said dryly.

* * *

Usagi had to go pick up Chibiusa. "How was your sleep over?" she asked once they left her friend's house.

"It was great. We got to make our own pizza and there was ice cream."

"Now that sounds like fun."

Usagi got a call from Rei. "Yes, I'm awake. Yes, I know to be at the jinja at two and I will be on time. What has you in a panic? Your grandfather's coming home early, and you don't want him to see us. Okay. I got it. Bye Rei."

"What's going on?"

Usagi knew Chibiusa wouldn't accept that this was a normal meeting because it wasn't.

"I'm going to go meet Diamond's mother, and I'm going to Rei's first."

"I thought she died."

"She did. I'm meeting his birth mother."

"Why do you need to go to Rei's to do that?"

"We're all going."

"We?"

"Ami, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Luna, Artemis, Diamond, and Sapphire of course

"I want to go!"

"But it's a long trip. You'll just get tired."

"If you can say awake, so can I. I want to go!" She got louder. Light started emitting from her forehead again.

"Okay, calm down. I'll ask Diamond if we can take you."

Chibiusa took a breath.

Usagi called him.

At 2:00, the group assembled at Rei's jinja. Rubeus and Esmeralda also joined them, not having seen their Queen in some time.

"You're bringing Chibiusa?" Rei questioned.

"I wanna go!"

Ami whispered to Luna, "should we be bringing her to the Negaverse?"

"I couldn't talk her out of it."

"Everyone get close," Diamond said. They huddled together. Usagi held Chibiusa. Rubeus held Trig. Minako held Artemis and Rei had Luna.

"And close your eyes," Sapphire added. Diamond's silver light combined with Sapphire's black light and together they made a purple light. "BLACK MOON TELEPORT!" the brother's yelled, swallowing the group into a hole.

Usagi tried to open her eyes, but they were moving too fast. They were in some type of protective shell. It seemed like it was over an hour, but it had only had been about 15 minutes before they got to Black Moon. They all tumbled out of the shell, most of them landing on their backs. Diamond and Sapphire knew how to land on their feet.

"It takes practice," Sapphire said as he picked up Minako.

Diamond scooped up Usagi and Chibiusa. "Welcome to Black Moon."

It was menacing yet surprising beautiful. The sky was deep purple and black the grass was still green and there were trees and flowers and parks. It was far from the desolate world that she had been expecting.

"To the palace!"

They started walking towards the palace when they heard a whistling sound.

A caravan came for them.

"Prince Diamond. Prince Sapphire."

The driver came out. "You're mother, our Queen, has sent me to drive you and your guests."

"Of course. Hop in ladies."

They climbed in the caravan and he was a fast driver. Usagi clung to Diamond. "Did he teach you how to drive?"

"Haha! We all drive like this I guess," although the BMW was much smoother than this caravan.

They stopped in front of what was a magnificent looking palace. It must have at least five floors and there were alcoves, balconies, and towers. The guards drew their spears, blocking the entrance.

"Who goes there?"

Diamond and Sapphire came to the front.

"Prince Diamond, Prince Sapphire, it has been a long time." The guards opened the gigantic doors, ushering the group inside.

Trig ran into the house. "Home sweet home!"

Luna was amazed at all of the artwork. There were paintings, vases, sculptures, miniature fountains, and even the curtains were of the finest silk. Artemis was looking for the kitchen.

A butler-youma came out to greet them. "Welcome to our palace. If there is anything you would like, I am at your service."

"You have a youma for a butler?" Usagi whispered into Diamond's ear.

"There are all kinds of youma. Usually only the bad ones end up on Earth."

"Do you have a library?" Ami asked.

"We have three. We have a library on the Negaverse, one on the Extra-terrestial Entities and a third library on Weird Science."

Amy thought reading on the negaverse would be the most practical, but weird science sounded great.

"Could I go to the Weird Science Library?"

"Of course." He waved his hand, making a series of arrows. "Just follow the arrows."

Amy took off. Makoto went after her.

"How about a training room?" Rei asked.

Again, the butler waved his hand. "We have several training rooms, a weight training room and a sauna."

Rei and Esmeralda were off.

"I know where the spa is," Rubeus was off.

"How about the play room?" the butler suggested to Chibiusa.

"Yay!" Chibiusa followed the pink arrows set out for her.

"Would you like to see the music room?" Sapphire asked his girlfriend.

"That would be great."

He took her to a room in the back of the palace with a piano, microphone, guitars and a drum set. "My mother loves rock music. Queen came to play here once you know."

"How did she get Queen here?"

"I think she kidnapped them and convinced them it was an acid trip."

"HAHA! Your mother sounds awesome."

"Do you have any snacks?" Usagi asked the butler.

He made arrows that went to a seating area outside. Usagi and Diamond sat down. A waiter-youma came out with biscuits and jam.

"These are so good," Usagi said as she stuffed her mouth.

Diamond took a bite. He always did miss the food when he left.

In the Weird Science Library, there was a section called "Inexplicable Scientific Phenomena!" with books, journal articles and magazines documenting events from mass hallucinations to spontaneous human combustion.

Ami was reading about a mass hallucination in Spain while Makoto was checking out the exhibits. They had this bowl of weird goo on a speaker that would vibrate. "Non-Newtonian fluid, on Earth is referred to as oobleck." Weird?

Chibiusa was playing on a child-sized train set. "I'm the conductor. WOOT!"

Trig came to play too. "Isn't this room great?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Everyone was enjoying a leisurly afternoon, until a purple light came out of the sky. The palace shook as loud music began to play. Everyone went to the windows to see a being come out of the light. She was beautiful, tall and thin with purple hair and black eyes. She wore a fancy robe that matched her hair and had a gold stripe in the middle. With her crown on, it was clear that she was Queen Pearl and as her name suggested, she was adorned with pearls.

The guards escorted her into the palace where she went to living room. Everyone came to join her. The room was beautiful: large bay windows, fancy couches and tables and filled with flowers.

"I told you she loves dramatic entrances," Diamond said as he led Usagi to the living room.

"I would too if I could make such an entrance."

The servants bowed. "Queen Pearl, Welcome home."

"Why thank you. I trust the palace has been prepared for our guests."

"Absolutely. Can I bring any refreshments to drink, your Highness?"

"How about a pot of tea, actually make it two, a green tea with jasmine and a black tea with lychee."

"Yes, Your Highness and shall I bring the cookies too?"

"Of course. What is tea without cookies?"

"Welcome to our palace. Please take a seat. I hope everything is to your liking. Diamond, Sapphire, don't be rude. Introduce me to your guests."

"Of course mother," Sapphire said, trying to mask his sarcasm. "This is Rubeus and Esmeralda."

"Don't be a snot. I've known them since they were born. Welcome home, you two."

Rei chuckled. "I'm Rei."

The girls introduced themselves.

"I'm Chibiusa!"

"I know. We've met before."

"We have?"

The queen took off her crown and put her hair under her cloak.

"We have met before. You had that cute little robot."

"I did. He's upstairs right now."

Usagi pursed her lips. Now how did they meet and where?

"You will find out in due time," the Queen told her.

"How did you do that?"

"I'm very good at reading faces."

"Which means if you're thinking about something and you don't want her to know, think about something else," Diamond cautioned.

"Now don't scare your girlfriend. I'm harmless, well mostly." She chuckled.

The waiter brought in the tea and cookies. "So, what brings you all to visit me? I've never had the Sailor Senshi here before."

"Well you sent enough youma our way, so we thought it would be time to visit," Diamond told her.

"You think _ I _ sent those youma?"

"Did you not?"

"Of course I did. I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out. All I wanted was for my son to bring home my girlfriend, so I could meet her. Was that too much to ask?"

"You didn't ask."

"I did, in my own way. Plus, I wanted to see how well she could fight."

"But you sent me youma I couldn't destroy."

"I know, and you didn't panic or run away. You stood your ground even though you didn't know what would happen. Very good."

Luna appeared from behind Usagi.

"Luna, I've been expecting you. Is Artemis here too?"

Artemis appeared from behind Minako. "How did you know who we were?"

"I've heard of you two years ago. You aren't the only one who looks over the senshi."

"How long have you known who we were?" Ami asked her.

"I had my suspicions, but I was sure once I sent Minako her first youma."

"That was you?"

Sapphire was flabbergasted. "Why?"

"She seemed bored. I thought if she knew who she was, she'd have some fun."

Minako laughed. "I was bored."

"Did you send our first youma too?" Rei asked her.

"No. I knew once Artemis appeared that the rest of you would figure it out in due time."

* * *

Before they could ask her anything else, the waiter came to find out what they would like for dinner. "Tonight we have a home-made spaghetti and meatballs, a chicken roulade filled with chorizo and wild mushroom stuffing or a grilled salmon with a mushroom risotto."

Chibiusa, Usagi and Sapphire all wanted the spaghetti. Rei, Esmarelda and Makoto got the salmon and Minako, Ami, Diamond and Rubeus got the chicken roulade.

They even had a menu for the animals. Luna got the salmon and sweet potato mash. Artemis got the meat surprise and Trig got the sweet potato mash with ground beef.

While dinner was getting prepared, the Queen had her own questions. "I want to know the gossip!"

* * *

As the girls started clamoring about who was dating whom, who had broken up with whom and what all they wanted to do with their summers, the boys felt a bit out of the loop as did Chibiusa.

"How about we play a game until dinner?" Diamond suggested.

"Hide and seek!" She ran off.

"This palace is huge," Sapphire told him.

"We can track her with her crystal. Let's give her a count of 30."

Dinner

They had dinner in a large dining room. They had to get a booster seat for Chibiusa. The silverware was sparkling, as were the glasses and the plates. Candles burned purple in the middle of the table. Diamond was looking through the wine cabinet.

"The sommelier has already picked out the wine for dinner."

"I know. I just wanted to see what you've added to the collection, since I've been gone."

"You would know if you came to visit more."

The waiters served a salad as a starter. They had four arms each, so it was easy to serve the whole table quickly.

Chibiusa was given a fruit salad, so she wouldn't have to eat any vegetables.

Usagi wanted one too, but she felt childish asking for one, so she ate her spring salad. She was surprised by how good it was. "This is delicious."

"I take it you're not a salad eater at home."

"It depends," Rei answered. "Is pizza a salad?"

"Shut up Rei. When is the last time you ate a salad?"

"Last week," she alleged; she didn't know.

The wine was poured as people ate their salads. Sparkling apple juice was poured for Chibiusa.

The main course arrived. Everything was plated perfectly and looked delicious. The spaghetti came with garlic bread; the salmon with a spicy mango salsa and the chicken roulade had a red pepper sauce.

The guests were so thrilled by the food they barely said anything other than yum and "is there more" in Usagi's case.

"You must save room for dessert," the queen told her.

"Dessert!"

They had a pistachio ice cream and a flourless chocolate cake. Usagi, of course, ordered both.

"You're such a greedy gut," Rei told her.

"How can I choose between cake and ice cream?"

"You can't." the queen said. She also got both. "And in this palace, you never will."

After dessert, the queen offered them coffee or tea. Luna had some questions about the future.

"Of course, but first, I need a word with Chibiusa, before she falls asleep."

"What?" She snapped herself awake. "Oh me!"

They went to the Queen's office. Usagi was still puzzled by her relationship to Chibiusa. What did she know that they all didn't?

"Do you remember what I said to you when we met?" The queen asked her.

"Yes," Chibiusa said. They had met at the time gate when she was on her way to the past. The Queen had told her that she would succeed in saving her mother. All she had to do was follow her heart and everything else would fall into place.

"Well, I am happy to say that we are on the right track. The people who had attacked your mother in the future are on a good path now. They won't do it again."

"How do you know?"

"Because they weren't bad people. They just had bad upbringings. Can you keep a secret?"

The girl nodded.

"I changed their pasts, so they would have a better future."

Chibiusa felt better knowing her mother would be okay, but she had one more question.

"Will I exist in the future?"

The Queen smiled. "The world you know will change, but you will be very much a part of it. Don't worry about who your mother marries. Her love created you the first time and her love will create you again."

"Even if she doesn't marry Mamoru?"

"Even if she doesn't marry him. I know that no matter what, your mother and father will both love you very much."

Chibiusa hugged the queen.

"You're a sweetie. Now how about we find you somewhere to rest before you have to go home."

A servant came and put Chibiusa in bed. The queen returned to the lounge.

"So who wants to start?"

Luna looked to Usagi.

"Can you help me? I was told that I was destined to marry Mamoru and we are to create Crystal Tokyo, but I don't love him, even though my past life did."

The Queen frowned. "Who on Earth told you that?"

"Well, my mother told me about my past life and about our future."

"This will surprise you, but try and let me finish before you freak out. Your past life was never in love with Endymion. You were betrothed to him and you planned to honor it to unify the moon and the Earth, but your heart belonged to someone else."

"But we saw her past life," Luna insisted. "She and Endymion were in love and Beryl attacked under the control of Metalia destroying everything."

"That never happened. I mean yes Beryl attacked under the control of Metalia, but that was a minor event. It didn't even cause the end of the Silver Millenium."

Luna frowned. Had her memories been altered?

"What really happened?" Usagi asked her.

"I will get there, but first I must confess. Diamond, you have a past life, one I never told you about."

"I have a what?"

"You were also in the Silver Millennium before it ended."

Diamond frowned in confusion.

"Let me start with some history. There were a lot of wars before the end of the Silver Millennium. People conquering planets and moons and from the wars formed alliances and then there were betrayals and wars. All you need to know from this is that Queen Serenity and the Earth King were allies and I was an enemy to both of them."

Princess Serenity and Prince Diamond fell in love at a masquerade ball that Venus had put on to celebrate Two Loves Day."

As the Queen told her story, Serena started having flashbacks to her past life.

**Flashback**

Serenity was in a chair. The servants were preparing her for the masquerade ball. They filed her nails, painted them, did her hair in an updo, and makeup and helped her into her dress, an exquisite blue ball gown.

"You look absolutely wonderful," they told her.

"The perfect princess."

Serenity smiled. She would not be the only princess there. There would be several as well as many princes. She hoped that today she would find a prince to love. She also looked forward to meeting up with her friends: The Princess of Venus, the Guardian of Mars, the Champion of Jupiter and the scholar of Mercury.

The Queen came into her room. "Serenity, this is an important day for you. You will be of marrying age just next year and this is the perfect time to start looking for a husband."

"Yes mother." Marriage sounded scary. Can't she have a proper kiss first?

"I have pre-approved many of the princes in attendance for your hand, so hopefully, one of them pleases you."

"Yes, Mother. I will do my best." What can I do really?

"You always do."

She got into her spacecraft and her driver took her to Venus. She was quickly escorted into the palace, guards meeting her when she landed at the Queen's insistence.

"Serenity, finally you're here!" She hugged her friend. "And you look fabulous. Let me get you a mask."

They went to her room, where a white and silver mask was fitted to her face.

"No one will recognize me with this mask."

"That is the point, Serenity."

"But how will I find someone to love if we can't even see each other."

"If you find love, you'll find him again."

They waited for their friends, and together, all five girls went down to the ball.

The ballroom was huge. There were people everywhere. Girls giggling, guys telling stories of war and snacks, which is where Serenity went first.

"You won't find a boyfriend on the food plate," her friend teased.

"No, but I do love these crabcakes."

The Princess was asked to dance by several men. The first kept stepping on her toes. The next had a penchant for bawdy jokes and the third couldn't stop sneezing.

_Oh boy, isn't this a disaster!_

She was about to sneak out for some air when a new suitor approached.

"May I have this dance?"

"I was just about to sneak out of here."

"Oh, I can sneak out with you. This place is a bit dry for my liking."

He had a powerful voice, sure of himself, a bit cocky actually. She did not think it wise to sneak off with him. "On the other hand, let's dance."

He took her hand and gently led her around the floor. He was a very good dancer.

"So what brings you to this occasion?"

"Huh!"

"Why did you come here tonight?"

"My mother wants me to find a husband."

"Do you want a husband?"

"Eventually, but I'm only 17. I haven't even had a boyfriend yet."

"Really?"

"Is that surprising."

"Well I just expected a lovely looking girl like you would have had plenty of chances for a boyfriend. Were none of them good enough?"

"My mother is very strict about my company, and you can't even tell what I look like."

"I can see you have beautiful eyes, a great figure and clearly very good taste in clothes. It is possible that you are a butter face, but I doubt it."

"What's a butter face?"

"You know. She has a great body but her face," is ugly.

It took her a moment to get the reference. "You're mean."

"I am not. I didn't make up the saying."

"But you used it."

"When? I know you're not a butter face, seeing as how I know who you are."

"You do."

"Of course Princess of Venus."

"I am NOT the Princess of Venus!" Serenity hated getting mixed up with her friend.

"I was just teasing, Odango."

"My name is not … wait a minute. How did you know how I usually wear my hair?" She slapped his shoulder. "You knew who I was the whole time, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. Why do you think I snuck into this ball? I wanted to see you."

"You did. Why?"

"You don't remember me. I'll give you a hint. We met a long time ago. I called you Odango, and you called me baka."

Serenity thought back. When she was a child, she had met a boy at the park, but the guards wouldn't let her play with him because they said his family was no good. He had called her Odango because of her hair and she said he was a baka. "It's you?"

"It is. My name is Diamond by the way," he whispered into her ear.

"And you came all this way just to see me."

"I did. I never forgot that day."

"Neither did I," she admitted. "I always wondered what happened to you."

"Well, now you can find out."

They were seated together at dinner. Diamond sabotaged the seating chart as Prince Endimyon had been set to sit with her. They laughed and told stories about their lives. Serenity's friend had helped them sneak off into a private room where he held her in his arms. "I wish we could be together," she told him.

"Why can't we be?"

"My mother will never allow it, and neither will yours."

"Don't worry about that for now. I will find my way to you. No one can stop me."

He leaned in, giving Serenity her first kiss. It was short and sweet, but she could have sworn that electricity ran through their lips, making her heart stop.

He pulled back. "Don't stop," she muttered. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. They stayed in their embrace until Venus told them that Serenity's escorts to take her back to the moon were on their way.

"Come find me," she said to him.

"I will, I promise."

**End of Flashback.**

Back to the Queen's story.

I believe you call it Valentine's Day. Anyway, because of my rivalry with your mother, you both kept the relationship a secret.

Diamond, however, didn't want to keep it a secret forever, and he asked your mother for your hand. She refused, but he wouldn't give up courting you. He would send her Queen Serenity flowers, and fight her enemies. He even said he would get me to give back a territory that I had taken from her, fat chance of that, but he tried.

She was convinced it was some kind of trap, that I was behind it, and she arranged for Princess Serenity to marry Endymion. My son still refused to give up and kept sneaking into the palace to see the princess.

Prince Endymion found out about Diamond when his father hired spies to keep his eye on the Princess and when the King threatened to have Diamond killed, Princess Serenity promised to never see him again.

About six weeks later, she found out she was pregnant and she wrote to Diamond asking for him to come back as he was the father.

He did, along with an army that he had amassed, and the King's men attacked. Diamond and Endymion decided to settle the dispute with a duel. When the King realized his son was going to lose, he told his archer to shoot Diamond. Serenity pushed him out of the way, and she died.

Diamond snapped and he killed Endymion for sabotaging the duel and killing Serenity, although I don't think he knew what his father was doing. The King flipped out and they went to war, destroying the Moon Kingdom and everything in their path.

Little did Diamond know, the Death Phantom was really commanding his army. He had promised Diamond to help him get Serenity back, but the real plan was for him to destroy the Moon Kingdom.

Queen Serenity sealed the Death Phantom in Nemesis and sent Serenity, the rest of her senshi and Endymion into the future by 1000 years, so they could protect the world.

I sent Diamond too to try and make up for what I had done wrong. If I had been there for him, I could have tried to work out a truce with the Moon Kingdom so that he and Serenity could marry, and the war never would have happened, but I was selfish. We all were selfish and our children suffered over our pettiness. I promised myself I would never make that mistake again.

Serena was still trying to combine what she was hearing know with what she had remembered then.

"So is Crystal Tokyo just a lie?" Rei asked, not to thrilled that Usagi had been given a bogus past.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "If it was based on Serenity and Endymion falling in love, then its foundation is fiction, but it's existence could be real. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I can give Usagi a piece of advice.

In your last life, you were ready to marry someone you didn't love because you thought you needed to so you could protect your kingdom and its people. Despite your best efforts, it failed anyway. You can't take care of everyone to the point of forgetting yourself. If you don't take care of yourself, you are in no position to help anyone else.

When you agreed to marry Endymion, your heart was split in two, your love for Diamond against your love for your kingdom. You have to find a way to keep yourself whole. Follow your heart and you can find a way to protect those who need you. Divide yourself and it will inevitably backfire."

Usagi thanked the Queen for her help.

"Of course, and you all are welcome here anytime."

It was getting late. They had to get back to Earth. They all gathered around to transport home. Chibiusa was asleep so Usagi held her.

"EARTH TRANSPORT!" The brothers yelled as they got sucked into another bubble.

It was after ten by the time Usagi got home. Diamond helped her get Chibiusa in bed. "Good night Small Lady," Diamond kissed her forehead.

"Night Daddy!"

"Did she just call you Daddy?"

"She said her father would call her Small Lady. It's probably a reflex or something."

Diamond gave her a kiss goodnight. "Goodnight my Love."

Usagi grumbled. She wished he could stay the night.

Luna was asleep too. Today was such a weird day. How could Queen Serenity just make up a future for her and make up a past? Diamond said that his mother didn't lie but she could be misleading. What about the past did she leave out?

Usagi stripped down to her underwear and went to sleep.


	12. I Want You Back

Mamoru spent another evening sulking in his apartment. He was no closer to figuring out the source of his nightmares, and he was miserable without Usagi. He could barely stand going to Crown anymore when she was there with her new boyfriend.

He kept telling himself that they were destined to be together, that they would work it out, but what if they didn't. Would she refuse to leave Diamond? Would she sleep with him?

Mamoru wasn't a virgin but she was. He expected that he would be her first, and was unsure of what he would do if he weren't. It sounded hypocritical and it was, but he wanted to be her only.

Maybe he should tell her about the dreams. If she understood, then she'd realize that they had to stay apart until they could be together again. She'd know not to give herself away to that playboy. He had to talk to her.

Finals were just around the corner. Usagi was actually feeling pretty confident. She took Diamond's advice and had a conference with all of her teachers to discuss her work and get any advice for the final exam. They were all impressed with her spring performance and hoped she'd be able to keep it up the following year. Mrs. H. even gave her some information on college scholarships. Not even her own parents had ever suggested she could get one.

They had a group review session at her house today. Diamond said he would help out since he was done teaching for the year already. The university had earlier finals, so that people could get on to their summer jobs or whatever else they had planned.

Usagi had a math final, a science final, an English final, and a final art project. They were starting with math since it was her weakest subject.

The girls set up in the living room.

"The final will have a questions from every unit we've done, but it will have more questions from the second half of the year and fewer questions from the first. I suggest we start with any questions from what we have done most recently and then we go to the beginning and work our way forward."

The girls got to work.

Usagi was wondering where her boyfriend was. She checked her phone. "Sorry, I'm running late. I had to take Sapphire to the store."

She couldn't wait until Sapphire could drive himself. She bet he couldn't either.

After about twenty minutes, the doorbell rang. Usagi went to get it, expecting Diamond, but Mamoru was there.

"Mamoru?" She opened the door, but did not invite him inside.

"Usako, I need to talk to you." He hadn't called her that since before they broke up.

"Right now? This isn't the best time."

"It's really important."

Usagi gave him a chance, even though she'd rather not. "You have 10 minutes."

They went into the backyard.

"First, I have to say that I'm sorry. I lied to you when we broke up. I do love you. I never stopped loving you."

Usagi frowned. This can't be good.

"I broke up with you because I had to protect you. You were in danger if we stayed together.

He explained the nightmare he had, the one he kept having. He had even found a broken photo of them on the floor.

"So you see, I had to break up with you, until I can figure out who is causing my nightmares and end the threat against us."

"I understand. I wish you had told me earlier." Why didn't he just tell her the truth? They could have gone hunting for this nightmare-giver together.

"I do too. I was trying to protect you, but I shouldn't have misled you. We can't be together now, but when this is all over, I want us to be a couple again."

Oh Crap. "Mamoru, I can't promise you that."

That's not what she's supposed to say. She's supposed to say, I understand. I'll break up with Diamond and wait for you. "Why not?" he sounded more aggressive than he had intended.

"I don't love you Mamoru, well not the way you want me to. I can't offer you anything more than my friendship."

He stared at her blankly. What about their past? What about their future?

"What about our pasts? We were destined to be together."

"I found out that our pasts were made up. We weren't in love in the Silver Millennium. Our parents had arranged our union, just like Queen Serenity is trying to arrange it now. Would you have ever asked me out if you hadn't been told we were destined to be together?"

Mamoru thought. She was cute, but she had been so whiny and immature. He couldn't have possibly dated her. "Maybe?" he said weakly.

"You wouldn't have asked me out, and I wouldn't have said yes. If we were meant to be together, then no one would have to tell us. We would be able to figure it out on our own, like me and Diamond."

"Like you and Diamond?" Is that why she thinks she doesn't love me?

Usagi realized that Mamoru had no idea that Diamond had been reborn too. How could she explain this without revealing too much about him?

"He didn't have to wait for someone to tell him to ask me out. He did it on his own and I didn't need someone to tell me I love him. I just knew it. I want you to be happy Mamoru, which means you have to enjoy the present, not feel bound by what we were told our past was or what people claim our future is. We have to find it for ourselves."

He saw Usagi, but he heard Serenity speaking. She had become wiser, more mature and sure of herself. He had to accept defeat.

"Take care of yourself, Usako."

"You too, Mamoru."

Mamoru left on his bike. He saw Diamond driving up as he turned the corner. He really wanted to kill whoever gave him those stupid dreams.

* * *

Diamond rang the bell. Ami let him in. "We were just about to start on …." Diamond looked around and didn't see Usagi. "Where's Odango?"

"Oh, she went outside in the yard. I was just about to go see if she was alright."

Diamond had thought he saw Mamoru leaving. Apparently, he was correct. "I have these practice exams, if you want to pick one to start with. Two of them are mock finals and one is a mock exam for the fall material and one is just of the spring material."

While Ami looked at them to see where they should start, Diamond went outside where Usagi was sitting alone.

"Are you alright?" he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his.

"Mamoru came by." She explained how he had been getting nightmares, and how he wanted to get back together once he figured out what was causing them and stopped it, but she told him she couldn't wait for him. "I want to be with you," she told her boyfriend. "I know I do, but for some reason, telling Mamoru that we weren't getting back together really hurt."

Diamond pulled her to his chest. "It's because you still care about him. It hurt him to learn that it was truly over and seeing him hurt, hurt you because that's the kind of person you are. You want everyone to be happy. He'll bounce back. You did." Diamond kissed her forehead.

"You always know what to say."

"I just say what I see."

They went back inside, so she could get to her work.

Over the next two weeks, the girls studied for and took their exams. Usagi didn't go to Crown except for on weekends, when she knew Mamoru would be working. It was still a little raw to see him. She hoped it would get easier with time.

Mamoru had been avoiding Crown too. Finally Motoki called him, "Are you alright?"

"What? I'm fine, why?"

"Well, you stopped coming by, Usagi stopped coming by, so I assumed you two are avoiding each other, but why?"

"She stopped coming by?"

"She comes by when you're at work. What did you do?"

"I might have tried to get her back."

"Now? You waited until she's had a new boyfriend for months."

"I had to try. Being without her is miserable, but now knowing that she doesn't want me back makes me more miserable. What do I do?"

"Get back on the horse and go on a date with someone knew. She moved on, Mamo-chan. You need to as well."

"That's what she said."

"Well that's what you should do. I know Rita has some friends if …."

"NO!" Never again would he date one of Rita's friends."

"It was just a thought."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll look on my own."

"Atta boy." He hung up.

"No I won't," Mamoru mumbled. What did Usagi mean when she said their past had been made up? Who told her this?

Maybe Ami would tell him what as going on. She's the rational one.

He stopped by Ami's house the next day. She was on her way out and was surprised to see him.

"Mamoru?"

"Ami, do you have a minute?"

"I was on my way out."

"I could give you a ride, make up the time."

"Um, okay. What's this about?"

"As I'm sure Usagi told you, I explained to her why I had to break up with her, and she said she understood but she didn't want to get back together. She said that we were never supposed to be together in the first place. Can you tell me where she got such an idea?"

Ami was afraid he'd ask this. If Usagi didn't tell him about Queen Pearl, she must have had a reason. How could she explain this?

"Well, Usagi started getting flashbacks of her past life and what she saw was different than what you both had been told." This was true. She did have flashbacks and they were different. She was just leaving the story part out

"How so?"

"She had fallen in love with someone else at a masquerade ball. She kept the relationship secret from Queen Serenity who had arranged for her betrothal to you. She was going through with the marriage to form an alliance between the Moon and the Earth because her kingdom was vulnerable. She only saw you as a friend in her last life."

The words were stinging. "How does she know the flashbacks are real? They could be like my nightmares."

"She said she could feel it. I've never had a flashback, so I don't know."

"And what about the future?"

"I have no idea if anything we were told was true. I can't advise you on that. I do need to get going."

They got on his bike and were off. This didn't go very well.


	13. Summer of Love

Fluff and Lemons. I swear the plot is coming, eventually.

* * *

Diamond and Sapphire had a summer home on the beach. Their parents had left it to them in their will. They hadn't used it very much as it had too many memories of their childhood. The brothers decided it was time to make some new memories in the place. They drove down and cleaned it out, sweeping out the cobwebs, cleaning the floors, countertops, windows.

"This place is gross," Sapphire hissed as he got another cobweb.

"Well, we did ignore it for almost two years now."

"I knew we should have hired a cleaning crew."

"Well, didn't we want more money for food and beer?"

"We did." He secretly wished they had asked the girls to help them clean. He hated cleaning.

The girls had arrived two weeks later. Chibiusa had come for the day, but only the "big kids" would be staying at night.

Chibiusa didn't want to leave.

"Don't be sad," Usagi told her as she kissed her forehead. "Between camp and play dates, you are booked all summer."

"But not with you and Diamond!"

"We'll take you to the beach again. I promise." She kissed her forehead. At some point, Usagi had become quite attached to the little brat. "And we'll take you to the mid-summer fire works on the beach."

"Really!"

"Yes!"

Usagi's father had come to pick the girl up. As far as he knew, this was Rei's summer house and the boys weren't staying the night.

"Come on, Chibiusa. Time to go home!"

"Bye everyone!"

"Make sure to call every now and then Usagi."

"Yes Dad!"

* * *

As soon as he left, she ran to Diamond. He picked her up and kissed her, spinning her around the room.

"We should go for a swim tonight," he told her. "It's a full moon."

"Do you mean just us or everyone?"

"Just us."

"Perfect."

After dinner and some beers by the fire they had made in the backyard, Usagi and Diamond went off for a swim. Minako saw them leaving and giggled. "Aw isn't that romantic?" she said to no one in particular.

"Isn't what romantic?" Sapphire asked, coming up from behind her.

"Diamond and Usagi-chan went for a stroll on the beach."

Sapphire never took Minako to do stuff like that. Should he? "Am I not romantic enough?"

"What?"

"Diamond always does stuff like that, walks on the beach, picnics, candlelight dinners on balconies. Am I being a bad boyfriend by not doing that stuff?"

"You don't have to be your brother to be a good boyfriend," Minako assured him. "You do plenty of things to romance me on your own, like the painting you did of me and when you helped me practice for hours, playing the same song on the piano, so I could get ready for my music final. It's the little things that matter to me, not the deliberate showings of affection, although they can't hurt."

"So romantic strolls sometimes, but they aren't a main event?"

"Perfect. Now kiss me!"

Sapphire pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. He always feared that he wasn't enough for her. His last girlfriend had been eager to point out all of his many flaws, but Minako seemed to see the good in him outshine everything else. He kissed her to express every word he didn't know how to say. He loved her and damn anyone who tried to take her from him.

Esmeralda had gone upstairs with Rei.

Makoto was rubbing Ami's shoulders downstairs. "No wonder they get so tense. You read too much."

"But I have to…."

"Medical school isn't for years," Makoto told her. "You don't need to learn it all now."

Amy mumbled incoherently as Makoto's hands went further down her back.

* * *

Diamond ran into the water. "The water's warm," he said to Usagi.

"Really?" She ran in quickly. "Ohh! You baka it's cold." She splashed him.

"Of course it's cold; it's night time." He laughed as he pulled her closer. "Let me warm you up."

He pressed his lips to hers, his arms around her waist as he pressed her body to his. Usagi deepened the kiss, her tongue battling his as his hands made their way down her back and up her stomach, tracing patterns on her flesh that made her shiver.

He reached the swell of her breast and cupped it. "OH DIAMOND!" she moaned loudly. Each time he touched her, he drove her mad, even though he had done this very movement many times. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "Do you like this?"

"Don't stop," she panted as he started to massage her breast. His other hand began mimicking the first one and soon, he had his hand under the fabric and was teasing her nipples with his thumb.

She started to feel a shortness of breath. She dug her nails into his back to keep herself upright. Diamond picked her up, bringing his head to her chest and he greedily sucked a nipple in her mouth, gently starting to chew on it.

"OH FUCK!" she hissed as she grabbed onto him.

He switched sides, going back and forth as Usagi felt helpless draped around him. He knew how to make her whole body ache for him.

"More, please!"

Diamond loved to hear her beg for him. He carried her out of the water and to the towels he had laid out for them. He set her down, quickly hovering over her as he kissed his way down her body. He covered her naked frame in kisses and then started kissing her hipline. His fingertips began teasing her outer lips, making her moan and growl. Her legs opened as he laid down in front of her. He gave her clitoris a flick with his tongue, the first time he used his mouth.

Her eyes became huge as he repeated the motion again and again. His tongue was wet and hot. The sensation was amazing on her cold skin. He continued to move around, tasting every fold she had as she gasped and growled for more, "DIAMOND!"

He slipped a finger inside of her and began to pump it in and out. His fingertips worked with his tongue as he drove her to new heights. This was much better than when he had just used his hands. He curled his finger forward, finding her g-spot as he continued to suck on her clitoris.

He went harder and faster as her moans turned into screams and her hips started to buck.

"OH FUCK!" she cried out as she came. He kept sucking and fingering her, trying to get her to have a second orgasm and she did. After that, she pushed him away. She was too tender for any more.

He held her in his arms, as she struggled to regain her senses. They stayed on the towel, watching the moon as he left soft kisses on her neck.

Eventually, Usagi got cold, so they got dressed and went back to the house. They took a shower to get the sand off and it was time for bed.

Usagi woke up to find Diamond was excited. She kissed his face and began to leave a trail of kisses down his torso to his hips. She bit his hip, the nip causing him to open an eye. She smirked as she encased him in her hand. She took the head and started to lick it like a lollipop. He grunted as she swirled around him, sucked on him and eventually, she began to stroke him too.

"USAGI!" he whimpered as she bobbed her head up and down. She started to quicken her pace. She wanted to be done before someone knocked on their door for breakfast.

She tightened her hand around him and stroked furiously as she sucked on his head.

Diamond was panting. He clenched the sheets as his hips tried to buck against her mouth. He held them back. "FUCK I'm CLOSE!" he hissed as he felt his release approaching. Usagi didn't slow down. She kept going until she heard him cry out and felt a salty liquid hit her tongue. She kept going until it stopped, and then she pulled her head up.

"Did you like it?" She had never used her mouth before.

"That was amazing, Odango. Now let's get ready for breakfast."

Makoto and Ami made pancakes.

"These are so good!" Usagi said as she stuffed her face.

"Do you ever not stuff your face?" Rei teased.

"Well, I pinch my nose when you cook," she retorted.

"Lies, I never cook," Rei snapped.

"I know. I think Chibiusa could outdo you."

The friends went on bickering like they did every day. After that, it was time for the beach. They found a volleyball net and began to play.

Their days had a familiarity to them, go to the beach during the day and come back to the house for a relaxing evening. On the weekends, there would be bonfires and house parties nearby, but for the most part, the group stayed together.

Mid Summer Festival

Chibiusa was excited to go to the beach. She hadn't seen her future parents in weeks.

As agreed, Diamond and Usagi picked her up and Usagi's father would be bringing her home the next day.

"And I get to sleep over. This day is going to be the best!"

They took her to the beach. Diamond and Usagi helped her big a massive sand castle, while the others sunbathed or swam.

"Why don't we build the sandcastle further from the waves, so it doesn't get washed away?" Usagi asked Diamond.

"We need the wet sand to make the castle or it will just crumble. We can take a picture before it goes."

Chibiusa missed her mother, and didn't know what it would be like to grow up again with a different father, but Diamond seemed like he would be good at it. She just hoped Mamoru would be okay in the end. He was her dad for six years. She wouldn't forget that. At least, she hoped she didn't forget.

After the sandcastles, they took Chibiusa to the glassblowing factory, where she saw them make a glass bowl, the candy shop and swimming.

There were two fireworks shows, one at 8PM and one at midnight. They took her to the early one, so she could go to sleep afterwards.

The fireworks were gorgeous. Every color hit the sky and they started as simple bursts but the patterns became more elaborate like dragons and bears. Chibiusa was on Diamond's shoulders as they watched the show. He held Usagi's hand in hers. Their friends were all coming out for the midnight show. This moment was for just the three of them.

When it was over, they carried the sleepy girl back to the house.

"Goodnight, Chibiusa!" Usagi kissed her cheek.

"Night, Mommy!"

Usagi pursed her lips. "She must really miss her parents."

The couple went outside to join their friends, who were all drinking and laughing about the day's events. "Isn't this great," Usagi murmured to her boyfriend. "We're all surrounded by our favorite people, so much love and happiness."

"You know what the best part is?"

"What?"

"Waking up next to you."

The eight weeks flew by and now it was time for them to go home. Diamond had to start getting ready for work. Rubeus and Esmeralda were both starting university at the end of the month and the senshi could only spend so much time away from their families. Well, Makoto could do as she pleased as she lived alone.

"I'll never forget this summer," Makoto said as she grabbed her last bag.

"Wasn't it great?" Ami kissed her cheek. They had eight weeks of fun. No youma at all. It was awesome.

Makoto took her hand and they got in the car.

When Usagi got home, she got hug/tackled by Chibusa. "Finally. Someone to take me places."

"Glad to see you missed me Chibusa! How is everyone?"

"You came back? I was hoping I could have your room," Shingo teased.

"Really? Should I tell all your friends that pink is your favorite color?"

"Don't you dare."


	14. Becoming a Woman

I swear this is relevant to the plot, even though it is really lemony.

**Two Months Later**

Wednesday

Usagi turned 16. Her parents and friends decided to throw her a surprise party at the house. They needed someone to distract her, so Diamond was taking her out for a birthday milkshake. They would be going to dinner on Saturday to celebrate the occasion.

Motoki brought her a milkshake with whipped cream and funfetti on it. "Happy Birthday Usagi!"

"Thank's Motoki!"

She took a sip of her milkshake. "Cake batter!" was the flavor of this one.

"Think of it as a birthday cake, Motoki-style."

"All birthday cakes should be milkshakes."

"They might be hard to share," Diamond told her.

"That's the point."

He snickered as she drank away happily.

After her milkshake, they played games in the arcade and they went to the park.

* * *

While they were out, Minako and Ikuko were decorating the house. Sapphire had lent them some of his paintings to put on the walls. They rearranged the furniture, brought in extra chairs, Rei had put a set list together and Makoto and Ami made the food. Esmeralda had gotten Usagi a dress for the night, which was hanging in her closet and Rubeus was their sound guy for the night.

Everyone pulled together to make this a perfect night for the future princess.

"Diamond texted us. They're 10 minutes out!"

After about 5 minutes, people started to hide. They turned off all the lights and moved away from the windows.

A few minutes later, Diamond and Usagi arrived and went inside. "Why are all the lights off?" Usagi turned them on and when she got into the living room.

* * *

"SURPRISE!"

"EEP!" She jumped into Diamond's arms, causing everyone to laugh.

"Happy birthday Odango!" yelled Shingo.

"AW! For me?"

"No, for this much cooler girl we know who has your birthday," Rei retored.

"You're mean! Thank you everyone, except Rei!"

"There's an outfit for you upstairs," her mother told her.

Usagi went to change. She saw a midnight blue dress that was sleeveless and flared out at the waist. She put it on. The dress came out at an angle in the chest area, like an upside down triangle.

She saw a necklace on her desk. It was made of pearls and had a moon on it. "Happy Birthday, Usagi!" It was definitely from the Queen. She put it on. It matched he outfit perfectly. She put on some pumps and headed downstairs.

Diamond changed into his suit in the bathroom. He waited for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shall we?" He took her arm as they walked in. "You look amazing," he whispered.

Usagi got hugs from all her friends and of course Sapphire had a photo of her scream and her jumping into Diamond's arms. "It's like a wedding photo!" He was holding her bridal style.

Of course, Usagi went straight for the snacks. "These are awesome!" There were meatball pineapple skewers, pizza bites and cucumber sandwiches.

After the crowd got a chance to mingle for a bit, they served the dinner, which was chicken with a broccoli rabe. Chibiusa did not want her vegetables. She put them on Shingo's plate when he wasn't looking.

After dinner, they had the cake. Of course, Shingo put trick candles on the cake. "You little butt!" Usagi said to him, making everyone laugh.

The cake, like everything else was quite delicious. Now, it was time to dance. She was in Diamond's arms, moving graciously along the dance floor. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was different. She was missing something.

**Flashback**

Princess Serenity was losing it. If she got one more awkward proposition from a geeky suitor, she would scream. Her mother had thrown a party to try and find her a husband. Unfortunately, she had already found the most perfect boy, but her mother turned him away.

Now, she sat here with a bunch of sissy princes who all wanted to win her favor. If Diamond were here, he'd whisk her away to somewhere romantic and fun, like when they snuck out of a party to go swimming in their underclothes under the moonlight.

"Well, he's not here, so I'll have to find my own adventure."

Serenity slipped out of the room, ditching her shoes so she could move quietly. She had just gotten around the corner and down the hall when she felt two strong hands pull her into the study.

"I was waiting for you to leave," Diamond hissed in her ear as he pulled her close.

"You came."

"Of course I did."

"But you're banned from the kingdom."

"Good thing I wore a disguise. As far as your guards know, I'm the caterer."

She threw her arms around him and kissed him, thrilled that he had gone through the trouble for her. He made her feel like she was worth the world. Everyone else had an agenda for her, even her own mother.

Diamond kissed her back, picking her up and putting her on the desk. She locked her legs around him as his hands roamed her back.

She broke the kiss. "I want you."

"I'm right here, Baby!"

He went to kiss her again but she stopped him. "No, I mean I want all of you."

He kissed her chastely. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I love you and I want to become one with you."

"Shall I take you upstairs?"

"No. I want you now." She took off his jacket.

"But this is hardly a romantic location."

"Any location is romantic enough as long as it's you."

She started unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled her undergarments off, leaving her exposed under her dress. Their tongues dueled, hands roaming everywhere.

He pushed her legs apart and began to devour her. She hissed and moaned for more. "Diamond, please." She was needy and desperate. She had to have him. She was sick of everyone else trying to dictate her life. She had to choose something for herself and the one choice she wouldn't give away was her first time. That choice was hers and she just made it.

He brought the princess to her release and said, "I'm sorry. This is going to hurt."

He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck as he slowly pushed himself inside of her. He quickly shoved past her resistance, making her wince and yelp. He started kissing her face. "I love you, so much Serenity."

"Hold me!" He pulled her even closer as he slowly eased his way into her. She cried against his shoulder as he stayed still until she could relax for him. He slowly started to move, back and forth, moans and whimpers escaping her lips.

After a few minutes, the pain started to dull and it started to feel good.

"More!" she moaned.

Diamond picked her up, pressing her against the books on the shelf as he continued to thrust in and out of her. She wrapped her legs around him, begging for it as he claimed her.

He held her until they were done.

"Stay with me tonight."

"I will."

They took what was left of their clothes and snuck up to her room. She locked the door, and they stayed in bed for the rest of the night. This moment was theirs and no one else's.

**End of Flashback**

Usagi blinked as her mind came back to reality. She knew what she had been missing. She wanted her own moment with Diamond, this moment.

"I'll be right back."

She went to find Minako. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure, Usagi-chan. What is it?"

"Do you have any condoms?" she whispered.

"Do I what?"

"Do you have any condoms?" she said louder and slower.

"Yeah, just in case. Why?"

Usagi looked at her.

"Whoa! Now!" she whisper/hissed.

"Yes."

"Are you sure it's the right time?"

She nodded.

Minako slipped a condom into her palm. "Good luck."

Usagi told Diamond to meet her in her room in 15 minutes.

She went upstairs, quickly moving her laundry out of the way. She threw it in the bottom of the closet and then saw a silk negligee hanging where her dress had been. There was a note.

"Just in case," Esmeralda. On the back it said, "good luck Odango," Rei.

She shook her head and laughed. Oh her friends! Usagi changed out of her dress and put on the negligee. It was cream colored and just the right size, hugging her chest and hips perfectly. She took her hair down and just put on a dash of perfume when she heard her door open.

Diamond walked in; Luna ran out, not wanting to see the scene that would unfold. The dark Prince was taken aback by the sight in front of him. There was his Odango, wearing a gorgeous silk nightgown, looking at him with eyes that seemed to be searching for his approval. He smiled, locking the door behind him as he kissed her softly. "You wanted to see me," he whispered into her ear.

"I want us to make love, tonight," she added quickly.

His wish did come true, even though it was her birthday. "I love you." His lips hit hers, sending them both on the bed as her hands found his hair. He explored her mouth until they were both out of breath and then he started kissing her neck, arms, collarbone, everywhere that wasn't blocked by her nightgown.

"OH!" she moaned as his hands touched her skin through the silk, the delicate fabric giving her a new sensation. "No fair," she pouted. "You're dressed."

He smirked as he unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it off and leaving him in his undershirt and pants. Usagi tugged the cotton shirt off him, revealing his muscular torso.

She fumbled with his belt buckle. He nipped on her neck. "You're not helping," she said, finding his work distracting.

"I disagree."

She finally got his belt off and then she pulled at his pants. He kicked them off and tossed them onto her chair. "Now you're overdressed." He grabbed her nightie and gave it a tug, taking it off her, leaving her naked. He pulled her on top of him, holding on to her hips as he began to kiss and nip her all over her body, starting with her neck and moving down to her chest and, arms, and stomach.

She growled as he chewed on her nipple. She started to rock her hips against him, causing them both to moan in delight. She hardened him with her movements. He pulled her into a kiss and started groping her ass as she grinded against him.

She's going to make me lose it, he thought as she swayed back and forth. He flipped her over and began kissing his way down her body.

He hovered over her wet lips and began to lick her.

"OH FUCK!" Her hips lurched forward as he teased her with his tongue.

Diamond slipped a finger into her. She moaned happily as he pumped it in and out. He wriggled in a second finger. She frowned. It was a much tighter fit. He rubbed her clitoris with his thumb until she began to buck against his hand. After getting this sign of approval, he started pumping his fingers in and out. "OH DIAMOND!"

He kept going until she came for him. He licked his fingers and then told her she tasted good. She always blushed when he did that. When she regained her senses, she handed him the condom and he rolled it on. "How do you want to do this?"

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Do you want to be on top? Do you want me to be on top? Do you want us to be on our sides?"

"We can do it like that?" she questioned, wondering how that would work. "I want you on top."

He kissed her pulling her close to him as he put his hands on her hips. "I love you Odango," he whispered as he started to push inside of her. He went slowly. He stopped when he reached her resistance. "I'm sorry," he whispered before he pushed past it, causing her to wince. He slowly pushed his way into her and then stopped.

She hugged him tightly, wanting the pain to stop. _Why did he have to be so big?_

Diamond slipped his hand down between Usagi's legs, rubbing her clitoris gently at first, trying to ease her pain. She let out a cross between a whimper and a moan and he kept going.

Eventually, her muscles relaxed around him and she started to moan from his ministrations. He started to slowly rock his hips back and forth, continuing to please her with his thumb as he moved.

"OH DIAMOND! OOOHHHH!" He started to move faster, eliticing moans and gasps from her as he took her. She dug her nails into his back and clung to him as he moved. "OH! OH!" she moaned before she reached her climax. She started to fall back against the bed, but he caught her in his arms. Diamond flipped them over, so he was sitting with his legs going over the side of the bed and she was straddling his hips.

"Hold on to me," he told her. She grabbed him as he began to thrust, faster and harder than before.

"OH DIAMOND! OOOHHHHH!"

"USAGI!" he grunted. It was only another minute before he came. The two lovers stayed in their embrace as their afterglow washed over both of them.

"I love you," she told him as they fall on the bed.

"I love you, Odango." Diamond went to go put on his pants and shoes.

"Don't leave me!"

"I won't. I just need to move my car." He didn't want her parents to know he was spending the night. Diamond climbed out of her window and moved his car to the next block.

He came back and climbed into bed with Usagi.

* * *

The moon was shining brighter than it had in over 1000 years. Scientists were going wild with the phenomenon, none of them understanding why it was happening. Little did they know, the Black Moon was glowing as well. Its queen was enjoying a scoop of ice cream as she noticed the brightness emitting from the ground. He better have used protection.


	15. Enter Setsuna

Haruka and Michiru were asleep when a ringing phone woke them up. Michiru answered it. "Hello?" she croaked.

"Michiru, it's Setsuna. I need to talk to you and Haruka."

"Is it urgent?"

"YES!"

"Okay, don't need to yell. Should we come to you or are you coming over?"

"I'll come over. We don't need my mirror for this anyway."

"I'll unlock the door in case I fall back asleep before you get here."

Before Setsuna could say anything else, Michiru hung up. "She's coming over."

"I don't want to get up. It's early."

* * *

About 20 minutes later, their doorbell rang. Haruka stumbled to the door. "Hey. We just made coffee and by we I mean the machine made it."

"I never would have guessed. Are you always this dead in he morning?"

"I am when I went clubbing the night before."

They sat down to hear out Setsuna. "I have two concerns. One, I think someone may have been messing with the past because the present doesn't look like it should."

"How do you know?" Michiru asked her before she could explain what else is is bothering her.

"Because the future has changed."

She explained how Usagi was to marry Mamoru and they would become Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion and form Crystal Tokyo. Villains had attacked Crystal Tokyo trying to get Chibiusa, their daughter, but Serenity sacrificed herself. Instead. Endymion sent Chibiusa to the past to protect her and so that they could save Serenity.

"But now," Setsuna continued, "this time has changed. Usagi is no longer in love with Mamoru. If they don't get married, there won't be a Crystal Tokyo nor will there be Chibiusa.

"What's the second problem?" Michiru asked, suddenly remembering.

"The second problem is that Usagi is somehow getting her powers faster than she did before. She's already at Princess Serenity strength; she just doesn't know it yet. This is a sign that she has found true love with someone else. This isn't supposed to happen, and I don't know what it will do to the future."

"What can we do?" Haruka asked. "We can't tell her who to love."

"We can't, but I need more information about who she's with now. He may be one of the villains from the future or he could have put a love spell on her."

"A love spell?" Michiru questioned.

"Is that even real?" Haruka laughed.

"Don't laugh about what you don't know."

"Okay, Captain Serious. We'll look for this Usagi. Where does she live and go to school?"

* * *

Usagi did not want to go to class today. She wanted to stay in bed with Diamond, but he had to work and she had to get good grades. She knew Diamond would be going to college eventually, and she wanted to go too.

Minako kept giving her knowing glances all day. Usagi hadn't told the other girls about last night, but knowing Rei, she probably knew.

When class was finally over, Usagi had to get Chibiusa from school.

"I'll walk with you," said Minako as they left the building.

Haruka and Michiru were watching them both leave. "Wait a minute? Isn't that the Usagi from the club, the Queen of Verve?"

"You're right. Our Princess was stripping on stage! Doesn't that make her go a bit down in you opinion?"

"No, but it makes her go way up in my imagination," Haruka laughed.

Michiru glared.

"Tell me you're not jealous. You were practically drooling when she was on stage."

Michiru turned red. "She's still in high school. She shouldn't be doing that."

"Aw, a little teenage rebellion never hurt anyone." Haruka could never frown at a hot girl dancing in a gay club.

Minako had a lot of questions for her friend. "So, how was it?"

Usagi turned pink, "It was," painful, pleasurable, passionate, "unbelievable."

"In what way?" that wasn't the word she was expecting.

Usagi tried to explain. "I knew what was going to happen biologically and I even had a flashback to our first time in the Silver Millennium, but I didn't have any way of knowing how it would make me feel. It was a special moment for us, but it was about me too. I feel like I became a woman last night, and I'm no longer a little girl. It's hard to explain."

Minako wanted to take the next step with Sapphire, but she didn't want to rush him. When she didn't say anything, Usagi asked, "are you thinking about doing it with Sapphire?"

"I am, but his last girlfriend treated him so badly. I don't want him to feel pressured."

"Does he put his guard up when you touch him?"

"No, but," Minako didn't know how to explain her hesitation. He struggled with expressing himself and she was worried that if she wanted to and he didn't, he wouldn't say no.

"It's good that you're thinking about his feelings, but he doesn't know what you're thinking if you don't tell him. If you want more, you have to let him know and then see if he's ready. You can't just unilaterally decide he isn't and hold yourself back. He might be waiting for you to be ready too."

"Then why can't he bring it up?"

"Because he doesn't want to pressure you. It's expected for guys to want sex and for girls to be scared of it. He instinctively is going to be reserved about making a move because he's considerate, and he doesn't want you to feel obligated. He loves you. You know it. He knows it. I know it and I know that he wants you. He looks at you like you're the only girl in the world, but does he know that you want him?"

"How did you get so wise?" Minako asked.

Saturday

Haruka and Michiru had been keeping their eye on Usagi, but she hadn't been around any boys. They tried listening in on her phone calls, but most of those were to her girlfriends. Was she dating one of them?

"Well, Saturday night is date night, so if we watch her house, we should figure out who she's dating."

"I feel like a stalker," Michiru said. "I know it's for the good of the future, but aren't we supposed to take orders from the princess, not conspire to change her life."

"We didn't agree to change anything. Setsuna just asked us to investigate. If her boyfriend or whatever is messing with time, then Usagi needs to know."

"Alright, but if we don't find anything in the next few days, I'm out. I can't just watch her eat and gossip with her friends all day."

They saw Usagi at the arcade with her friends, the other inner senshi. They also saw a woman with green hair and brown eyes. She sat next to Rei, holding her hand. _That must be her girlfriend._

The girls were again gossiping, seriously they do that a lot. Usagi whispered something to Minako. The girl laughed.

"What's so funny?" Rei questioned.

"Your face," Usagi laughed.

"Say that again ODANGO!" Rei raised her fists.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look cute when you're angry?" Usagi baited her.

"You're gonna get it." Rei started chasing her around the arcade. They almost ran straight into Mamoru and a girl.

"Oh sorry, Mamoru. Rei has anger issues."

"I DO NOT! This is all Usagi's fault."

"Well, Usagi is a troublemaker." Mamoru teased.

"Hey! I'm a problem solver, like that milkshake over there. It's a problem and I'm about to solve it." Usagi ran to steal Rei's milkshake.

"You better not steal my milkshake."

Mamoru shook his head. Sometimes, he wondered how he dated her. She's such a little kid.

"That's your ex," the girl questioned.

"I know. It's complicated."

Haruka and Michiru didn't learn that much other than Mamoru might have a new girlfriend. Setsuna won't like that.

* * *

Diamond came to pick up Usagi at 6:30. He was wearing a black suit, which made his silver hair stand out.

Haruka recognized him from the club. "Of course. She's dating the King of Verve." They had forgotten all about that, as they had not paid much attention to the males.

He rang the bell. Shingo let him in. "Usagi's still getting ready. Something about her hair."

A few minutes later, she came down with her hair in a bun. She was wearing a pink dress with a low collar. The dress hugged her curves tightly.

"You look fabulous," he said. She was wearing the earrings he had gotten her for her birthday. Of course, they were diamonds.

They kissed at the bottom of the stairs and Shingo made wretching noises.

"Why don't you go kiss Mika?" Usagi teased.

Shingo ran off.

"Shall we?" Diamond asked.

They walked out to his car.

Haruka and Michiru saw them leave in a BMW.

"He's got nice wheels. How old is he?"

The girl tailed him. They went to a place called Morimoto's. Haruka took out her binoculars, so they could watch from the next building over. "They're going to the back for some reason." She couldn't figure out why they'd be going out of the dining room, "They're not going for a quickie before the dinner are they?"

"I should hope not. Maybe they have special tables in the back."

"Maybe." The couple didn't come out for a while.

Diamond arranged for them to eat at the chef's table tonight. A former student's uncle owned the restaurant.

One of the chefs came to serve them.

"Welcome. I'm Taki, and I'll be serving you tonight. Is this your first time here?"

"Yes."

"Then, might I suggest the tasting menu?"

"We'll consider it," Diamond said. He wasn't going to get it. Why triple the cost of his dinner?

"Great, and if you have any questions, please let me know." The waiter was off

"Do you know what you want?" Usagi asked him.

"I think I'll get the duck. It sounds really good," duck breast, duck confit fried rice, duck egg.

"Hmm." Usagi was hungry. She knew that. She had a question for their server. He came back.

"How can I help you?"

"If you were really hungry, which entree would you get?"

He smiled. He usually got questions about what the entrees were, not which one was biggest.

"I would get the crispy rainbow trout with a side of fried rice." That sounded really good.

"I think I'll get that then."

"Any appetizers."

"Um, the pork belly."

"Very well, and you sir."

"I'll get the scallops and the duck entrée."

"Very well, anything to drink?"

"A mint julep please," Usagi requested.

"A gin and tonic for me."

"I'll be right back with those."

"The food here smells so good," Usagi mumbled. "I can't wait to eat."

"You sound like you missed lunch."

"I did. I didn't have breakfast until 11 and I didn't want to spoil my dinner, so I didn't eat lunch."

"Since when do you worry about spoiling your appetite? I've never seen you do it before."

She stuck out her tongue.

"They must be eating in the back," Michiru said when they still had no sight of them.

"We'll have to wait until they leave then." Ugh! This was boring.

Their drinks came first. Both drinks gave off a citrusy aroma. Usagi took a sip. "It tastes kind of tart."

Diamond took a sip of his. "Mine does too, but it works well with the gin." They switched. Usagi liked his drink better.

The appetizers came. The pork belly was exquisite. The scallops were perfectly seared. "Do you want a bite?" Usagi offered some of her pork. Diamond gave her a scallop in return. Who needs a tasting menu when you can trade?

"I wonder what they're eating," Haruka mumbled as they waited. "I'm hungry."

"Maybe you can ask for the leftovers," Mirichu retorted.

"I can try. Hey, we're two of the outer senshi. Can we have your food?"

Michiru hit her head. "Baka!"

"I'm your baka."

"How is everything?" Taki asked them.

"The food is perfect. Can I get a gin and tonic?"

"Of course. Another one for you Sir?"

"No thanks. I'll stick with water."

"Very, well. I'll be right back with your drink, Miss."

Her drink arrived right before their entrees came. She looked at her food wide-eyed. "This trout looks so GOOD!" The serving of fried rice was generous. Usagi was a happy camper.

Diamond was very pleased with his duck entrée. He offered Usagi a bite.

"It's so fatty and delicious."

After they were done, Usagi asked where they were going next.

"It's a surprise," he said.

"I want to know!"

"You will, my little Bunny."

Their server came with some of the kitchen staff and they sang Happy Birthday to her as they set down a big piece of chocolate cake in front of her. It came with a black sesame mousse and crème Brule ice cream. She smiled and thanked them. Then she thanked Diamond. "You shouldn't have."

They shared the dessert. This was a fabulous birthday date so far. After settling the bill, they went to the restroom before leaving the restaurant.

Haruka was sleeping. Michiru slapped her. "Wake up! They're about to leave."

They followed the couple as Diamond drove out of Tokyo. He put a blindfold on her half way there, so she couldn't see where they were headed.

When she took it off, she was surprised to find herself at his beach house.

"How about we go for a late night swim?" He had brought their bathing suits and hid them in the back. They changed, unaware that they were being watched through their window.

"Stop peeping!" Michiru slapped Haruka's head.

"You're just mad you don't have binoculars."

The lovers went to the beach, running into the cold waves and playing around like children. The sky was full of stars. The moon was partially out. It was a beautiful night and it was far from over.

Usagi wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I love you, Diamond."

"And I love you Usagi!"

They started making out in the water. Haruka was still watching with her binoculars. "They are totally into each other."

"We knew that! We're supposed to figure out who he is!"

"How, by following him everywhere?"

Their kisses lead to touches, which caused moans and wimpers as they clawed at each other.

They started rolling around on the beach, kissing, biting, not caring where the sand ended up. "Do you have any condoms?" she whispered into his ear.

He nodded. Before he could get one, she pulled him into a kiss. "Let's get this sand off first." They ran back into the water. Usagi took off her blue bikini and rinsed herself off.

"Now this is a show!" Haruka giggled. "Remind me to thank Setsuna for this. Usagi pulled off Diamond's trunks. "Less exciting," Haruka mumbled.

He carried his girlfriend to their towels and he started to dry her off. She started kissing him down his salty skin and then sucked him into her mouth. His skin was cold and she knew just how to warm him up.

"OH FUCK ODANGO!" he growled as she hardened him with her hot mouth and cold hand. Once she was satisfied, she handed him the condom. He put it on and she straddled his hips. He kissed her neck as he guided himself inside her. She held onto his shoulders as she began to rock her hips back and forth. He felt deeper with this new angle. Her pain from the other day was gone, and she was able to go faster.

She started having a flashback to the Silver Millennium

"OH ODANGO! FASTER" Serenity was straddling Diamond, the two lovers copulating in a guest room in her best friend's palace. The Princess began to buck her hips even harder, frantically moving back and forth as they moaned and cried in pleasure.

She had become more confident each time they made love, and now she was sure of herself.

He grabbed onto her hips and started to meet her thrusts. They were both very close and needed just a little more to go over the edge.

"OH DIAMOND!" Serenity cried as she slumped forward, reaching her climax.

Diamond held onto her and gave her a few more thrusts before he followed.

She fell off him. The two lovers waited on the bed to recover. Since they were a secret, they had to take what they could when they could. She would sneak of to Venus and he would meet her there. When she couldn't get away, he would sneak into the palace. She didn't like him doing that, as she was afraid of what her mother would do if she caught him there, but he always said she was worth it, no matter what.

It didn't take long for Serenity to get on all fours and turn to him, signaling she wanted more. He knelt behind her, getting himself hard again before he thrusted into her. They went at it fast and hard, just like they both liked it. Actually, they liked it any way, but hard and fast had become a specialty of theirs.

"GIVE IT TO ME!"

End of Flashback

Usagi hadn't realized it, but she started going faster and with more confidence as she remembered her past with Diamond.

"OH FUCK! ODANGO!" Diamond hissed, amazed by her riding prowess.

Michiru was trying to drag Haruka away, but she insisted that they were doing important research. "I can't believe that a 16 year old girl can ride like that. How long have they been fucking?" Haruka didn't think it that odd to watch them. It was hard to see with the lack of light anyway. It was more like watching a sexy shadow.

Diamond grabbed her hips and began thrusting hard. Both of them let out a cry as they came at virtually the same time.

Once they caught their breath, they wrapped their towels around themselves and went back inside.

"Do you want to shower and sleep?" Diamond asked her.

Usagi shook her head. "I want to shower, but I want more afterwards."

Diamond smiled. Is it possible that his girlfriend's sex drive rivaled his? Excellent.

* * *

The Outer Senshi left for the night. They hadn't learned much, well other than Usagi enjoys sex and not with Mamoru. _Is his real name even Diamond?_

After their shower, Diamond carried his girlfriend bridal style into their bedroom.

She giggled as he spun her around and they fell on the bed. She went to kiss him and he flipped her over, pinning her hands over her head.

"My turn," he said with a mischievous grin as he began kissing her neck, moving down her body as she writhed with pleasure.

"OH DIAMOND!" she gasped as he bit her thigh. Red eyes met blue as they gazed at one another. He smirked right before he shoved his tongue inside her, making her squirm underneath him.

Once he got her sufficiently wet, he pulled away, licking his lips as he went to grab another condom. When he came back to bed, she was on all her hands and knees waiting for him.

He bit his lip in anticipation before he walked over to her kneeling behind her as he gently grabbed her hips. He sent kisses up her spine to her neck. "Are you ready?"

"Have me!"

He slowly pushed his way into her. They both groaned when he reached the hilt. The angle caused him to go even deeper into her than before. He held still, letting her adjust to him before he began to rock his hips back and forth.

She was very vocal, moaning and whimpering as he filled her. He draped over her, his lips kissing her shoulders. "You're so tight," he hissed into her ear. She felt like a vice grip around him.

Diamond closed his eyes. For the first time, he started to remember part of his past life.

FLASHBACK

"We don't have a lot of time," Prince Diamond whispered as he pulled the Princess into the study.

The guards made rounds every 10 minutes, so that's how long they had before they would return.

She made quick work of his belt and his pants, both hitting the floor together. He pulled her into a ferocious kiss, desperate to taste every corner of her mouth. He hadn't been able to see her in months between her engagements and his responsibilities on the Black Moon.

He bent her over the desk, lifting the back of her dress as he pulled her panties out of his way. "You're already wet for me," he hissed as he probed her with his fingers.

"UGHMPH!" she growled as he pushed her legs apart with his knee. He rubbed himself on her outer lips, getting himself wet before he thrusted into her. She was so wet, he moved faster than he had intended, filling her in one swoop.

"OH!" she moaned loudly.

"SHH! We don't want anyone to hear us." He gave her his ascot to bite as he started to pump his hips back and forth. Stifled moans escaped her lips as he drove himself into her. She felt so good. His eyes shut as he began to go faster and deeper, bucking maniacally. She literally drove him crazy.

It was almost over. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close as he moved his hand between her legs. He began to rub her clitoris, trying to get her to finish when he did. She came right after him and then they had to scramble to get dressed and leave the room before a guard came in.

"I wish we didn't have to hide like this," she said as they went through a dark corridor.

Diamond was on his way out of the palace. "Someday we won't. I don't know how, but I will find a way for us." He kissed her goodbye. "Until we meet again."

END OF FLASHBACK

"OH FUCK!" Usagi could barely think straight. Diamond was pounding her so hard; he was driving the air out of her lungs. It felt, well fantastic. She felt pleasure washing over her like waves, the first ones small, but each one was larger than the one before it. Eventually, they became too much and she shrilled loudly before she came all over the sheets below her.

It took all of her energy not to collapse on the bed. Diamond must have felt her fatigue because he wrapped himself around her, holding her upright as he made his last few thrusts.

After he was done, the two lovers stripped the bed, finding new sheets before retiring for the night.

"Happy Birthday Odango," he said as they fell as asleep.


	16. Dream Weavers and Nightmares

The next day, Haruka and Michiru reported to Setsuna.

"So what have you learned?"

"Well, we know her boyfriend goes by the name Diamond because we saw him at a club a few months ago, but we don't know if that's a nickname or not. He drives a BMW, black, pristine, expensive for his age. He looks around 18-20." Michiru reported on the more innocuous information.

"We also know he and Usagi are hornballs who like fancy food. They went to Morimoto's for dinner on Saturday and then they went to the beach where they went at it like rabbits."

"You mean …"

Haruka made a circle with one hand and plunged two fingers from her other hand into it. "Granted, they thought they were alone on the beach, but still, hornballs."

"We left after that," Michiru said, glaring at her lover.

"So you have no idea who he is or where he came from?"

"Not yet, although I did write down his license plate, so maybe we can figure out something about him that way."

Setsuna grumbled. She was debating whether or not she should tell Endymion. On one hand, she could really use an ally who had seen the future to help her get things back on track, on the other hand, he has the most to lose if Usagi won't go back to Mamoru, so he may behave rashly.

What really irritated her was all of the doors the future seemed to have. There had been a clear path to Crystal Tokyo, but now it was muddled.

* * *

As far as Endymion's was concerned, his plan was going as intended. Mamoru ended it with Usagi and kept his distance. He would do whatever it took to protect her. Now it was time to reunite them, so that they could face the enemy that would be coming for Chibiusa.

He sent the same nightmare to Usagi, knowing that once she had it, she would understand why Mamoru dumped her and would seek him out.

"RUN!"

Usagi tries to run away, but it is too late, she gets sucked into a hole made by a youma and the hole only gets bigger, swallowing everyone. "If you love him, you will stay away."

Usagi snapped awake, weirded out by the dream. Is that what Mamoru has been going through all this time? That was dreadful.

Diamond felt her stirring in the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into his chest and went back to sleep.

When she woke up, her brain felt tired, like it was still trying to process. She grumbled when Diamond asked her if she wanted breakfast.

"Earth to Odango!"

"Huh!"

"What is it Love? You were all shaky last night and now, you're totally gone."

"I had a dreadful nightmare." She explained it to him. "I think Mamoru has been having the same one."

"Shared dreams? That is weird. Maybe Rubeus can help."

"How?"

"He's a dream weaver. He can go into your dreams and look for what's causing the nightmares."

"Really? I don't know if or when the nightmare will come back, but maybe we should try it anyway."

"I'll see when he's free."

After she got home, she called Mamoru.

He hadn't seen her number calling him in months. "Usagi?"

"Hi, Mamoru. I was wondering if you were free to talk. I had a nightmare last night. I think it's the one you've been having."

What? What else did this youma want? They broke up for good!

"Um, sure. Meet at Crown?"

They met there an hour later. Motoki was surprised to see them together. "So you two can talk without killing each other."

"Yes, but I might kill you," Mamoru glared at him, way to make this even more awkward.

"Okay, minding my own business." Motoki ran away.

Usagi described what happened. It was virtually identical to his dream.

"And last night was the first one?"

"Yes. I don't know what this guy wants. We have stayed away from each other."

"I know. I wish there was a way to track him down."

"Actually, there might be. I have a friend who's a dream weaver."

"A what?"

"He can go in your dreams. If we have the nightmare in front of him, he can try and go inside our dream and figure out who's causing them. I don't know of his success rate, so it might fail, or we might not have the nightmare in front of them."

"Mine are pretty routine. I have one every Wednesday."

"Still?"

"Yeah, still."

"I'll see if he can do Wednesday."

"Sounds good."

* * *

Haruka and Michiru were able to hack into the police database and find Diamond's license plate number. Car is registered to a Derek Kuro Age 18.

They found his address from his driver's license information and ran a search on the house, co owned by: Derek Kuro and Sergei Kuro.

Now who are the Kuros? They did a search on the two boys. Derek Kuro graduated high school as valedictorian at 16.

"Now let's look for him in his school paper," Haruka mumbled to herself. Aha. His valedictory address. He thanks his mother and his father rest their souls. So they're dead?

She struggled with surching for them without their names. Just searching Kuro had too many people.

"Hey Michiru?"

"What?"

"If you were looking for what happened to someone's dead parents, but you didn't know their names, where would you look?"

"An newspaper article. It would probably reference their kids."

"Duh!" She tried searching dead, father Kuro, Derek, Sergei. She found it, an article one for a man Widower and Father of Two Killed in Head-on Collision. She started skimming. His wife died of breast cancer six months before. Ouch!

Haruka researched the parents, but they seemed to be normal people. The wife had been an artist and her husband was the CEO of a tech company, which explains why the kids seem to be well off. So Usagi fell for a normal boy with a normal family. Not what Setsuna was expecting to find, but there's nothing here.

She called Setsuna, but the girl was out, so she left a message.

Setsuna went to the time gate, looking for a clue to explain to her what had happened to time. She looked for signs of tampering, but the gate seemed to be working as designed

_Chibiusa still has the key, so how could someone have passed without me knowing?_

She needed more information. She went back home and found that Haruka had left a message.

She called her back. "Can you and Mich come over? Yeah, an hour's good."

Setsuna took a long shower, trying to get her nerves to calm down. Her position gave her so much stress.

The doorbell rang. Setsuna let them in, her hair still wet from her shower.

They came inside. "Still have wet hair. Did you just wake up?" Haruka teased.

"No. I feel like crud."

"Whoa! Let's get to it then, so we can get out of here."

"So Usagi's boyfriend is named Derek Kuro. He's 18, graduated high school at 16 and has a little brother Sergei. Both their parents died. Mother had cancer and father died in a car crash. It looks like they have no other family, and we couldn't find anything weird about them."

"So you're telling me, Usagi fell in love with a normal boy and not some super villain."

"From what we can tell, he's just average. There was nothing special about his parents and we followed him around for days. He didn't conjure up any youma or anything."

"He teaches English as a second language. That's all we got."

Setsuna growled.

"Isn't this good? It means Usagi isn't in any danger from him."

"That is good," but it would make it harder for her to end up with Mamoru. If he had been a villain, than Usagi would have had to defeat him and them she could fall for Mamoru again.

* * *

Wednesday Night

Usagi and Mamoru were lying down in bed. "I never thought our first night in bed would be like this," he laughed.

"Baka!" She swatted him with a pillow.

Rubeus was making an elixir out of various herbs that he had in his messanger bag.

"What is that for?"

"It will help you remember your dream when you wake up. I doubt that I will recognize whoever is causing your nightmares, but you might. I'm going to try to lure him out so you can see his face."

They each drank half of the vial he had prepared.

"That tastes like socks," Usagi told him.

"Dirty socks," Mamoru added.

"I don't know what socks you've been eating, but I promise, there were no socks involved."

* * *

Diamond and Sapphire were in Sapphire's room, discussing his relationship with Minako.

"She asked me if I wanted to have sex." Sergei sounded scared as he said this.

"Do you not?"

"I do, but what if I'm bad at it. Like really bad. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't think she does either, and what if I hurt her or something."

Diamond started snickering.

"You jerk!" Sapphire smacked him.

"Chill, little bro. Look. This is one of those things you have to find out by doing. Will your first time be the best? Certainly not, but you have to do it sometime. If you just psych yourself out, it will be worse. You just have to relax and take your time. Think about what she already likes and make sure to do that before you get to the main event."

Sergei was confused. "What do you mean stuff she likes?"

"You know," Diamond raised his brow. "Tell me you've given her an orgasm before."

"What?" he squeaked. "All we've done is kiss."

"What? No wonder you're freaked out. You can't go to home plate, without going past the other bases."

"What does baseball have to do with this?"

"Sapphire, there are plenty of ways for you to please Minako without having sex with her and you need to start there. If you rush into it, it's just going to be terrible."

"No offense, but didn't you and Usagi rush into it?"

"No. We didn't even start having sex until last week."

"Then what were those noises that came out of your room all summer."

Diamond just realized how little his brother knew about intimacy. "This is going to take a while."

* * *

Usagi fell asleep easily. Mamoru on the other hand was struggling. It was so weird having her this close to him again. He could smell her perfume and hear her breathing as she slept.

Eventually, his eyes became too heavy and he passed out.

Usagi looked peaceful at first, muttering happily as she slept. After a couple of hours, however, she started to twitch. Rubeus put his hand on her forehead and recited an incantation before his world went black.

He focused his eyes and saw the shadow of a man. He started chasing him, going from a run into a sprint as the man tried to escape. The man, however, was too fast. All Rubeus saw was a man in white. He quickly jumped into Mamoru's dream, hoping the man went there next.

There he was, creating the same nightmare. Rubeus started sprinting towards him. Halfway through the dream, the man saw him and started to run away. He was very fast. Rubeus couldn't catch him, but this is a dream, so he cheated. "Paralyzing dart" he dreamt one up and threw it at the man, causing him to freeze as he fell onto the ground. Rubeus dragged the man into the middle of the dream.

"This is the guy who's been making your nightmares. Do you know him?"

Rubeus left the man there for Mamoru to get a good look and then he jumped out of the dream.

Usagi had already woken up at this point and Rubeus was just coming to. "Did you see him?" he asked her.

"No, but I saw you chasing him."

Unfortunately, Mamoru couldn't wake up until his dream invader woke up. Endymion was trapped there until he realized he could just dream up an antidote to cure his paralysis.

Endymion got up off the floor. "Who the hell was that?" he wondered. He didn't see who ambushed him. Has someone else been messing with Mamoru's dreams?

He got up and escaped, allowing Mamoru to wake up, dreary eyed. "Was that you in my nightmare?" Mamoru asked Rbeus.

"Yes, I caught the dream maker. Did you get a good look?"

"I did, and he looked like me."

"What?"

"Not me, but maybe my past life or something."

"You have a past life? This shit is weird."

"I saw him, the man who was making my nightmares and I think he was me."

"Well, that is a surprise," Rubeus said dryly. "So you either have a split personality, a doppelganger, or ….."

"Your future self came here," Usagi stated.

"You think?" Mamoru asked her.

"Well, I can tell when I am seeing my past life, and I assume you could do if yours was visiting you, but you wouldn't know your future self, so it makes more sense that your future self came to the present."

"But why would my future self conspire to break us up?"

"I have no idea, but it's the best guess we got."

They debated on what to do next. Mamoru wanted to find this double, but he didn't know where to look. Usagi thought they should get everyone together and see collectively what they knew about time travel, but Mamoru was hesitant to get everyone involved and amped up without more information.

They agreed to try Luna and Artemis first as they were the most levelheaded and see where that goes.

The next day, after school, Usagi told Luna about the dreams.

"You think it was Mamoru's future self?"

"It looked just like him, well according to Mamoru. I didn't see him. Maybe it could have been a disguise, but that just seems convoluted to me."

"How so?"

"The only way to see who is in your dreams is with a dream weaver, so if it were a disguise than whomever is behind this would have had to know that we would have a dream weaver available or else the disguise is for naught."

"I suppose that is a bit farfetched. But how would he have gotten into the past."

"The same way Chibiusa did."

Luna shrugged. "Why wouldn't he just contact his past self directly?"

"Maybe there are rules against that."

"There could be." Luna needed to mull this over. "Have you told the other scouts?"

"No, Mamoru doesn't want to involve them before he knows more, but I don't know how to get more information. This guy might not appear in our dreams again, since he got seen the last time."

Luna decided to talk to Artemis while Usagi got started on her homework.

* * *

She heard a whimpering sound. "Chibiusa?" Usagi found the girl curled up in a ball with Luna-P. "What's wrong?" She sat down next to the girl and started stroking her hair.

"I miss my mommy and I want to go home!"

Usagi hugged her. "I know. It must be so hard being in a different time and away from everyone you knew, but we'll save her and we'll get you home." I don't know how, but we will.

"The worse part is, it's all my fault. They came after me, but Mom fought them and she got hurt."

"It isn't your fault," Usagi insisted, a bit louder than she had intended. "Your mother protected you because she loves you and that's what mother's do. They fight for their kids no matter what. She was there for you then and we'll be there for you now."

"When do you think I'll be able to go home? It's been so long."

"I know, and I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from those people how came after you before. It's like they gave up, but we'll figure it out." Usagi had an idea. "Did you ever meet Mamoru's future self in your timeline?"

Chibiusa looked up. "Why?"

"I think he came to the present. Mamoru saw him, but he left before he could reach him. We were wondering if he came here the way you did."

Chibiusa was told not to say who her parents were or that her father had come to the present, to try and minimalize disruptions to the timeline, but if he got caught, that could be a problem. "My mom knows him." She didn't elaborate further.

How does her mother know the king of Crystal Tokyo? "Well, we'll figure it out, and when we find him, maybe he can help us save your mom."

Chibiusa needed to find Sailor Pluto. "Do you have a phone book?"

The girl wrote down Setsuna's number and decided to call her the next day. It was almost Chibiusa's bedtime.

Setsuna was awakened by a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Setsuna?"

"It depends. Who are you?"

"It's me. Chibiusa!"

"Small Lady. What can I do for you?" And why are you calling so early?

"Usagi asked me questions about my father, and I didn't know what to tell her."

"What did she want to know?"

"She wanted to know if I knew Mamoru in my timeline. She said that Mamoru thought he saw his future self, but he disappeared before he could reach him."

Setsuna gulped. That's not good, especially if Endymion learns that Usagi has found a new lover. "Have you heard from your dad?"

"Not since he sent me to get the silver crystal," which she still didn't have.

"If you do hear from him or see him, give me a call."

"Okay, and what should I say if Usagi asks any more questions."

"You can tell her to find me."


	17. Get on Your Path

Wiseman had no idea what happened to his clan. One minute, they were attacking Crystal Tokyo and he next minute, Diamond and the others were all gone, and he woke up in a cold cell. Did they turn him in, but to whom? He wasn't on Earth. He also wasn't on Nemesis. He must be on some reject planet. Great!

As the man stewed, he wondered what would happen to Death Phantom? Would he get a new accomplice or has he met his end too? World domination had been so close. Now it was just a dream.

* * *

Endymion had to find a different way to get to Mamoru. He decided to follow his old self around and get used to his routine. Maybe there'd be a way to innocuously approach him. He wore a disguise, temporarily dying his hair brown and wearing green contacts.

"My old self was boring," Endymion concluded as he followed him to class and then to work. From there, he went to the arcade where he hung out with Motoki. "I haven't seen him in forever."

He didn't see Usagi or any of her friends that day. Doesn't she always get a milkshake and fries? Maybe she's in detention?

A redhead, she looked around 18 or so, came up to Mamoru and gave him a kiss. "I missed you."

They started talking. Endymion couldn't hear them. This can't be happening. Mamoru is failing the test. He doesn't love Usagi if he moved on to another woman, and if he doesn't love Usagi, will Endymion lose his love for Serenity? No! _I'll have to break them up._

While Endymion tried to figure out how to ruin Mamoru's relationship, Setsuna was trying to figure out what to do about Usagi's. She could only see so far into the future, but what she saw had no room for Mamoru. The Princess was becoming more sure of her love for Diamond every day. Setsuna felt torn between her responsibility to keep the future balanced, and her duty not to interfere. Days like this made her miss her Queen. She always knew what to do.

* * *

Friday rolled around and it was date night for, well, everyone. Usagi had a date with Diamond, Minako with Sapphire, Rei with Esmeralda, Ami with Makoto, Luna and Artemis, Mamoru and his new girlfriend; even Chibiusa had a play date.

Sapphire was so excited. His brother was letting him borrow his car for his date. He was going to take Minako to an upscale French restaurant.

Diamond, on the other hand, was treating Usagi to a homemade dinner. "Don't scratch it and stay out as long as you can okay," he handed his little brother the keys.

"You're the best."

"I know."

Sapphire picked up his lady who was wearing a cute little black dress. "You look amazing," he said with a smile as he kissed her on the stoop. He then heard yelling.

"Oh that's just my Dad. Let's go." They got in the car and drove off.

Setsuna went to drop in on Haruka and Michiru and seek their advice.

The two lovers had been making out on the couch when their doorbell rang.

"If that's a door to door salesman, punch him," Haruka growled.

"Hey Setsuna! Come in."

"Sailor P in the hizzouse!"

Setsuna glared at her.

"You're in my house; you have to deal with my foolishness."

"I do, don't I. I'm not sure what to do about Usagi." Setsuna was not used to being unsure of what to do. She got her job by being decisive and consistent and now, she was thrown for a loop.

"Why not just do nothing?" Haruka suggested.

"Do nothing?"

"Isn't that what you usually do?"

"Ruka!"

"I don't mean it in a bad way, but interference isn't really your thing. Think about it this way; there are six other senshi here to watch out for the Princess. If this guy is trouble, we'll handle him."

"I'm not just worried about him being trouble. I'm worried about Usagi not choosing Mamoru in the end. Her love for Diamond is growing. What if there's no Crystal Tokyo and no Chibiusa?"

"Maybe Diamond will just die in a car crash or something."

"Ruka, that's terrible."

"What? I wasn't wishing death upon him. I'm just saying, if Usagi's has to end up with Mamoru, then she will and maybe we don't need to do anything." Haruka did not want to tell her future Queen who to date.

"Maybe we don't, but if we do need to do something, the window of opportunity is closing."

"Did you just try talking to her?" Michiru offered.

Setsuna shook her head. "She doesn't know Chibiusa is her daughter. I'm trying to resolve these issues without telling her too much about her future. She's not really supposed to know too much anyway."

"Well now that's just dumb," Haruka growled. "You can't expect her to pick a set path without her knowing it's her set path. If you don't want to tell her about her future, then you have to leave her to be free to pick her own. What's more important? Getting the outcome you want for the future or staying out of it. You can't have both."

Setsuna had been struggling with that very question, but hearing you can only have one finally resonated with her. She knew what she had to do.

"Thanks Haruka."

Setsuna left.

"What about me?" Michiru fussed after she left.

"I guess, I was the only helpful one, for once."

* * *

Mamoru took his girlfriend to a Spanish restaurant. They had gotten paella to share. "This is delicious. It has so many different flavors and textures."

As they shared their dish, a man "accidentally" tripped a waiter into their table, spilling a drink all over Mamoru's girlfriend.

"My dress!" she cried.

"I'm so sorry. Someone tripped me!" He went to go get towels for her dress.

The manager apologized and offered to comp their meal and pay for dry cleaning.

She started to laugh. "Of course, my first night out somewhere classy in over a year and I get a drink spilled on me. My own brother tells me I'm cursed."

They ended up getting the meal to go and they decided to go back to his house, so she could change out of her wet dress.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said to him.

"I'll reheat the food."

"You aren't going to join me?"

Clothes came off as they raced to the shower. Soapy suds flew everywhere as they kissed and pinched. Little did they know, Endymion was watching them from an office building across the street. He had to find a way to ruin this date. He followed another resident into the apartment building and pulled the fire alarm. Then, he escaped out of an emergency door.

"Did you want to finish eating?" she asked Mamoru as she dried off her hair.

"I think dinner can wait. I have an appetite for something else. He pulled her into a kiss just to hear an alarm go off. SHIT!"

She started cracking up. What a terrible date this had become. The lovers scrambled to get dressed and then they left the apartment. People started coming out in droves only to see that it was a false alarm.

"Maybe we should go for some ice cream," she suggested. "We won't be able to go back inside for a while."

Mamoru looked for his wallet. "I forgot my wallet inside."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll pay." They left hand in hand.

Endymion cursed. No matter how hard he tried to ruin their date, they kept going.

* * *

"Dinner was so good!" Usagi cheered as she finished the last of her milk. He made burger sliders and a pancetta & saint Andre pizza. Her favorite part was dessert, which was a chocolate brownie with ice cream on top. "You are so good to me," she growled happily as she kissed him. "You're so smart and sweet and handsome. I love you."

She pushed him on the couch. "Let me show you how much I love you." Before he could react, she fell on his hips, kissing him deeply as she began to unbutton his shirt. He growled as her teeth sank into his neck, marking him before she left a trail of kisses down his chest. She reached his belt buckle and started to take it off with her teeth, her eyes on him the entire time.

He gulped as she tore the belt off him, sending it to the floor. His hands trembled with anticipation as her hands ran up and down his boxers, teasing his manhood. He stiffened under her touch. She smirked as he growled and muttered incoherently.

"Cat got your tongue?" she teased.

As he continued to blabber, she began stroking him through his pants, moving her hand up and down against the red, cotton fabric.

She pulled him out and swirled her tongue the large, bulbous head.

"OH GOD!"

As she began to gently suck, barely touching him, tormenting him in a delicious fashion, he dug his nails into the couch and groaned for more.

Setsuna drove to a part of Tokyo she wasn't used to seeing. Instead of living in an apartment like many young city dwellers did, the Kuros lived in their own house, owned free and clear.

She had been looking all over for Usagi and concluded that she must be at Diamond's house. She had already tried Usagi's home and had even hacked the GPS on Diamond's car, just to find another man driving a girl, who must be Sailor Venus, around.

When she got to the street and made a right, she took a moment to think. She had never met the Princess, well not in this lifetime anyway, and could not just bang on the door without an explanation as to who she was. Did her boyfriend know she was Sailor Moon? If so, the identity of the other scouts could be at risk and if not, then Setsuna did not want to blow Usagi's cover.

She had to come up with a reason to knock on the door and quickly.

Diamond felt his self-control waning at a dangerous rate. He wanted to just grab Usagi's head and ….

"Usagi, I'm about to …." He growled loudly as he finished in her mouth. He swore he could see stars right now. She was about to ask him what he wanted to do next when the doorbell rang. Diamond quickly redid his pants. "Could you get it?" he asked weakly.

* * *

Usagi wiped off her mouth and then answered the door. "Hello?"

"Hi. I was wondering if I could ask for a hand? I got a flat tire." Setsuna had stabbed her own tire to give herself an excuse to come over.

"Sure, come in. I'm Usagi."

"Hi, I'm Setsuna."

"Do you want me to put on your spare for you?" Diamond looked at the woman. She was older, very well dressed, did not look like she had ever changed a tire before.

"Oh, that would be great." She handed him the key and he went to get a flashlight.

"Do you live in the neighborhood?" Usagi asked.

"Actually, I don't. I got lost on my way to a friend's house and then of course, flat tire. I'm so unlucky."

"I'm a bit of a klutz myself, so I know the feeling." Although she had been getting better over the past several months. "Did you want any coffee or tea?"

"Water would be great." Setsuna watched Diamond go outside. He had changed as to not mess up his nicer clothes. Hopefully, this would take him a while.

When Usagi came back with the water, Setsuna started to explain. "Usagi, I have to be honest with you."

"What are you talking about?" We just met. What lies could she have told?

"I know who you are, and I need to tell you who I am. I'm Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time."

"What?" She wasn't surprised that there was a guardian of time, or even that this woman was she, but why show up at her boyfriend's house during her date? "I mean, what brings you here?"

"There has been an interference with time and space. You and Mamoru were supposed to fall in love, get married and form Crystal Tokyo and have Chibiusa and …."

"And _have_ Chibiusa?" Usagi was stunned. "You mean that spore is mine?"

Setsuna glared. "Yes, she is your spore."

"Well, I need to tell my future self not to spoil her so much."

"Good luck with that, anyway. The future is in jeopardy and because of your relationship with Diamond. I don't know how the timeline got changed, but you are not supposed to be with him and you are most certainly not supposed to fall in love with him. I don't know what happened to you and Mamoru but…."

"I don't love him and I never did."

"What?" Now Setsuna was confused.

"I didn't love him in the Silver Millennium. I only was going to marry him because I was told that I had to for my kingdom. I didn't love him this time around either, but I was told that we had been in love and we were destined, so I accepted it, but I can't do it anymore. I lost my last life because I tried to live a lie and it all fell apart, and I won't do it again. I can't be with Mamoru."

How did she know about her past life? Setsuna had planned on sticking to the cover story, but now that was out the window? "How did you learn about your past life?"

"I have had some flashbacks," Usagi answered. "I started to remember my past, and I don't know why my mother lied, but …."

"You did NOT just call Queen Serenity a liar." Setsuna was very defensive about the late queen, even though Usagi wasn't wrong.

"Everyone lies, whether or not it is a habit for them. I'm sure my mother had a reason for telling me what she did, but this isn't her decision. It's mine, and I choose Diamond."

"What about Chibiusa?"

Usagi didn't know what to do, but she would save the little girl. "Mamoru and I will have to figure it out. Maybe she could have a room with me and a room with him."

"I meant her conception."

"Oh, ugh!" Usagi didn't want to think about that. "Can't he just be a sperm donor?"

Setsuna's jaw actually dropped. She wondered how she could have thought it would be easy. Just tell her the truth and she'll understand and behave. Of course not. Oh Crap!

"And what about Crystal Tokyo?"

"He's the Earth Prince. Can't he just pick his own queen? I'll help him make Crystal Tokyo if he needs my crystal, but I won't rule it with him." Usagi had no interest in being queen. She had a hard enough time getting herself together.

* * *

Diamond came back inside. "You're all set. I would just throw out that tire instead of trying to repair it. It looked gashed, like you ran over something sharp."

"Thank you," she said, feigning cheer. "I must be going." She gave Usagi one last glare before she left.

Once she was gone, Usagi explained who she was and what she wanted.

"I told her it wasn't happening, but what if I mess up the future?"

"You won't. You've saved the world over and over again, and I know you'll figure out what to do."

"And what about Chibiusa?" Usagi couldn't see herself having a child with Mamoru, even if they did it as friends and if her mother was endanger, then Usagi's future was in danger too.

"We'll figure it out together. I'm not going anywhere Odango."

She fell on his chest. "Can we watch bad movies and eat lots of popcorn?"

"Of course."

Mamoru and his girlfriend were sharing an ice cream sundae and laughing about their miserable date.

"Well, on the bright side. Nothing bad's happened here?"

Mamoru knocked on wood. The couple laughed.

After Mamoru's girlfriend went to the bathroom, man came in and yelled at him.

"How could you do this!"

"Do what?"

"Cheat on Usagi. Do you not care about her anymore?"

"We broke up, not that it's any of your business. Who the hell are you anyway?"

Mamoru squinted at the man. He seemed familiar somehow.

"Never mind who I am, you need to fix this or else it will all be over!"

Mamoru recognized the voice. "You're the jerk who's been haunting my dreams." The man ran away. Mamoru started chasing him.

His girlfriend came back confused. "Where did he go?"

The storeowner shrugged. "He got into an argument with some man and then started chasing him."

"Now, this is the weirdest day ever!"

She decided to go home for the night and would call Mamoru tomorrow. She had enough of date night.

* * *

Minako sighed happily. She and Sapphire were nestled in the back seat of Diamond's car. "How did I do?" he asked nervously, this being the first time he ever tried to please Minako, or anyone other than himself for that matter.

"You were great." She kissed his cheek. She thought her screaming had made that clear. He's so nervous. "Relax. Now, it's your turn."

She began kissing his neck, leaving her mark just below his neck when she heard a yelling noise.

"Get back here you BASTARD!"

She thought about going to see who it was, but she didn't sense any youma, so she figured it was probably some drunks or something.

"Now where was I," she muttered to herself as she started to unbutton his shirt.

Endymion was at a disadvantage. He was being chased by his younger self and in a city with which he was no longer familiar. He saw an alleyway and went to hide in it, when he realized it was a dead end. Before he could turn around, he was cornered.

"Now who are you and what the hell do you want!"

"I'm your future," Endymion admitted.

"What's with your hair and why have you been haunting my dreams?"

"I dyed it, so you wouldn't recognize me if you saw me, and I had to test your love for Usagi. Serenity is in a coma now, and I had to know if you would do whatever it takes to save her, but it looks like you just forgot her and got a new girlfriend."

"Don't give me that," Mamoru snarled. "I broke up with Usagi because I thought I had to in order to save her, and she went and got a new boyfriend."

"SHE WHAT!"

"Yeah, and when I told her about the dreams, she said she understood, but that she loved Diamond more, so we wouldn't be getting back together."

"SHE CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Well, she can and she did. Doesn't this fix your problem anyway? If the future changes, she won't end up in a coma."

Endymion refused to admit to that logic. "But we're supposed to get married, and form Crystal Tokyo and have Chibiusa."

"Chibiusa's ours?"

"How do you think she got the nickname?"

Mamoru thought. "Oh, that does make sense."

"So you'll dump your girlfriend and get back with Usagi?"

"I don't …." Mamoru had just gotten over her. He was in a good place right now. "Can't I just be a sperm donor or something, for Chibiusa's sake?"

"A SPERM DONOR! I AM, I mean, we are her father. You can't just give up on her mother. What about your past? What about your destiny?"

"Usagi says our past love in the Silver Millennium was all made up."

"WHAT?" Now Endymion was really losing it.

"She said she was in love with someone else, and she was only marrying me for political reasons, and if we got married in this era, it would be the same thing. She said she wouldn't do it twice."

The future man felt like the air had just been punched out of his lungs. "If Usagi doesn't love you …" does that mean Serenity no longer loves me? "Where's my daughter?" Is she okay?

"Probably at Usagi's house."

Endymion needed to figure out what to do. He had meant to change the future, but not like this. Where the hell is Setsuna? Maybe she can help him fix everything.

He looked at the time. It was late. He'd have to try tomorrow.


	18. The Past and the Present

The next morning, Setsuna put on a pot of coffee and opened her newspaper. She needed to give her mind a break. She had just poured her cup when she heard a banging on her door. "Oh great!"

She went to get it and it was a disheveled Endymion.

"Sit down," she said curtly as she went back to her coffee. Before she offered him any information, she decided to find out wht Endymion knew.

"I know I wasn't supposed to speak to my past life, but he had a new girlfriend. Anyway, he said Usagi doesn't want him anymore. She has a new boyfriend. What about Chibiusa and Crystal Tokyo?" He had forgotten all about the Silver Millennium and whether or not they had ever been in love at all.

"I know."

"What do you mean you know?"

"I mean, I went to talk to her and she said she didn't love Mamoru and she never did."

"WHAT?"

"She refused to take you back."

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you. If Mamoru couldn't get her back, I'm not sure future Mamoru will do any better. Let me convene the other scouts. Maybe they can reason with her, since they know her so well."

"What about Chibiusa?"

"She's fine for now (inexplicably). Let me meet with the other senshi and see how we can get through to Usagi. Don't panic and don't confront her. We don't need any more time paradoxes."

He nodded his head, but she wasn't sure if he'd actually obey. After he left, she called Haruka and Michiru.

"Hey, we need to have a meeting, and I think it's time we met the other senshi."

Setsuna went to their apartment, where she explained what happened at her failed meeting with their princess.

Haruka didn't see the problem. "If she'll form Crystal Tokyo and have Chibiusa, does it matter if she and Mamoru stay broken up?"

"Of course it matters. He is supposed to rule with her, not by himself or with a powerless woman."

Haruka felt uneasy. Setsuna was her friend so she instinctively trusted her judgment, but Usagi was her princess. Was it her role to tell her whom to date? She felt like this was insubordination some how.

Setsuna found the other senshis' phone numbers and she gave them each a call. They agreed to meet at Rei's jinja at 7PM.

* * *

Usagi was having brunch with Minako. They decided they needed some girl time.

"So, did you talk to Sapphire?"

"Of course, we went out last night."

"You know what I mean. Did you talk to him about ...?" Usagi raised and lowered her brow.

Minako laughed. "We talked about it."

"And…"

"And what?"

"And, was he any good?" Usagi raised and lowered her brow again.

"Yes, you ecchi."

Usagi threw a fry at her friend.

Minako responded with a napkin. "We had fun; I'm leaving it at that."

"And you were too scared to make a move."

"Shut up."

The two girls giggled through their meals.

* * *

Afterwards, Diamond and Usagi took Chibiusa to the zoo.

Endymion didn't confront Usagi, but he did follow her once she left her house the next morning. He saw her eat brunch with Minako and then saw her boyfriend pick her and Chibiusa up in his fancy car. "Is it money? Is that how he wooed her?"

He followed them to the zoo and his fists turned white from clenching them too hard when he saw Diamond carrying Small Lady on his shoulders.

_She's MY daughter_

How could Chibiusa be so happy with him? Doesn't she know that his interference could ruin her own existence? The girl, however, seemed totally at ease. The trio took pictures together, ate dipping dots together and they even got into a tickle fight, Usagi losing of course.

Chibiusa sighed happily. She missed spending time with Diamond. She knew her parents needed this time to build their relationship and in the future, it would be her time, but she wanted that time now.

"How about we go to the toy store before we go home?" Diamond offered.

"YAY!" Usagi scooped up Chibiusa and they went on their way.

Endymion overheard the conversation and growled. Now, he's spoiling her too!

He tried to follow them, but he lost them as they left the parking lot. There were too many people leaving at the same time.

Chibiusa found herself in the largest toy store in the city. They even had a rollercoaster.

Usagi started looking around. She didn't expect to see much for her, but it didn't hurt to look. "OH MY GOD. They have an easy bake oven. My mom would never let me get one."

"Do you want it?" Diamond teased.

"I'm too old now, but I wonder if Chibiusa would like it?"

"We'll ask her." Diamond grabbed the box.

Small Lady had found a bicycle. It was pink and white and made for a princess. "Can I get it?"

"Is it the right size?" They found a store model to try out.

"I would get one size smaller," the attendant suggested. They had the perfect bike in the back.

"A bike and an easy bake oven. Aren't you the little Princess?"

"Actually, I am," Chibiusa teased before she realized what she had admitted.

"It's okay," Usagi whispered. "I got a visit from Setsuna."

"You know?"

"Yeah, I do. Now, let's get going you little spore."

The girl stuck out her tongue and Usagi returned the favor, leaving Diamond with the perfect picture on his phone.

Small Lady was tired after her day out and went to take a nap.

"Are you up to anything tonight?"

"No. I thought the girls would have called me by now, but maybe they're busy."

"Well, Rubeus has been bugging me about going out with, I don't even know who. If you want, I'll pick you up later."

"Maybe. Give me a call before you leave." Diamond kissed her and headed home.

He didn't notice Endymion following him. The future Mamoru had waited at Usagi's house, figuring he'd have to drop them off. He wanted to yell when he saw Diamond carrying in a bicycle for his daughter.

The man lived in a nice house, drove a nice car, and seemed perfectly pleasant. Endymion hated him.

* * *

Rei was sweeping the floor when Chad came to tell her that Ami and Makoto were here. Of course, they were the first to arrive. "So you do live," Rei teased as they came inside.

"Why wouldn't we live?" Ami questioned.

"No one's seen you, since you two lovebirds got together so."

The two girls blushed.

"Like you can talk," Makoto retorted. "Aren't you always with Esmeralda?"

"I'm not with her now. She and Rubeus are doing a bar crawl or something."

Minako showed up next. "Where's Usagi-chan?" Rei asked her.

"She said she was taking Chibiusa to the zoo. They should be done by now."

"She's probably eating knowing her."

Haruka and Michiru came next. "I'm Sailor Uranus, and I'm Sailor Neptune."

"How come we haven't met you before?" Ami asked.

"We usually patrol the galaxies, but there's been a lack of activity there, so we have been in Tokyo waiting until we were needed."

Last, but not late was Sailor Pluto. "Thank you for coming," she said as she sat down.

"Shouldn't we wait for Usagi?" Ami questioned.

"I didn't call her. You'll understand why when we get started." The group nodded, the inner senshi concerned that they were meeting without their leader.

Setsuna explained how villains had attacked Crystal Tokyo and sought Chibiusa. Neo-Queen Serenity sacrificed herself to save her daughter, and they had to put her in a medically induced coma. Chibiusa came back to this time to escape the villains chasing her and to find a way to save her mother in this time period.

"Endymion came to test Mamoru's love for Usagi because it had to be unwavering for this all to work, and he was supposed to break up with Usagi and then they would later reunite after she understood why he had ended it. However, something has disrupted the timeline. Instead of Usagi and Mamoru getting back together, both of them have started new relationships with other people, putting the future of both Chibiusa and Crystal Tokyo in danger. Inexplicably, the thugs chasing Chibiusa have vanished, and after I reached out to Usagi and Endymion reached out to Mamoru, we got nowhere. If we don't get them to resolve whatever differences they are, the future is in trouble."

Ami asked, "What can we do?"

"We need to figure convince Usagi and Mamoru that they need to get back together."

"But she doesn't love him," Minako insisted. "She never did, not in the Silver Millennium and not now."

"Wait?" Haruka interrupted. "I thought they were destined to be together because of their past history."

"It was all made up," Makoto added. "She and Endymion were engaged for political reasons. She loved Prince Diamond. She still loves Diamond."

"Wait," Michiru started. "Her new boyfriend is her old lover?"

"Yes, and they've already been apart for 1000 years. It's time they got to be together again," Minako insisted.

"What about the future?" Setsuna questioned the goddess of love.

"Our Princess has a responsibility to the world. She hasn't forgotten and she won't let us down, but she deserves to be happy in her own right too, and I'm not going to ruin something that makes her really happy."

"Nor am I," said Rei.

Makoto and Ami joined the other inner senshi, leaving Haruka and Michiru with a difficult choice to make. Did they stick with their closest friend against the other senshi and their own leader? They both looked at each other, confused about what to do.

"Let's table this discussion for another day," Michiru suggested. "We won't resolve it today, anyway." She was glad to have said something without committing to anything.

She and Haruka quickly made their exit. "What a shit show," Haruka growled.

"No Kidding. This is like the teens vs. the old ladies."

"Who you calling old, and since when am I a lady?"

"I know. You're a scoundrel."

"No, I'm a gentlemen, you wench."

* * *

Setsuna found herself 0 for 2. Usagi wouldn't hear of the future and neither would her scouts. She wished Queen Serenity were here to talk some sense into the girl.

The inner senshi stayed to discuss this turn of events.

"What are we going to tell Usagi-chan?" Ami asked them.

"The truth?" Makoto asked more than stated.

"What exactly do we say?" Rei questioned. "Hey, Sailor Pluto convened your senshi behind your back to try and get us to conspire and get you and Mamoru back together, separating you from your true love. She won't trust Pluto or the other outer senshi."

"Maybe she shouldn't trust Pluto," Minako countered, "at least, not on this."

"Our loyalty is with her," Makoto said. "We have to tell her."

"Do we?" Rei questioned. "Yes, she needs to be told, but can't Luna do it?"

"Luna, Artemis, we should find them."

The two cats were enjoying their time with no youma. "Isn't this nice," Luna purred as she snuggled next to him.

They were about to nap again when the communicator went off. "Luna here."

"Hey, it's Minako. Is Artemis with you?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

"There's no youma or anything, but can you two come to the jinja?"

"Alright. Give us 25 minutes."

"It only takes 10 to run there," Artemis said.

"I know, but it will take me 15 minutes to get up."

They eventually ran to Rei's and got there to see what looked like an unhappy group of senshi.

"Where's Usagi?" Luna asked, noticing her absence.

"Sailor Pluto called for a meeting without her," Ami told the cats. Ami gave a summary of the meeting.

Luna was troubled but not surprised. "I was hoping this wouldn't happen."

"You knew?"

"I feared. Setsuna is very intelligent and she's quite meticulous, which is how she got the job in the first place, but one her downsides is that she can be too meticulous. She saw a future and now that it's changing, she assumes disaster and wants to change it back, but you can't go back.

Every future is the continuation of its present and its past. When you change the past, you change everything that happened afterwards. We can't expect Usagi and Mamoru to stay together when they now know their past romance is a lie. Their past romance was the foundation for their relationship. Even if we could get them back together, it would never be what it is in the future that Chibiusa knows."

"So it's too late anyway," Makoto said.

"It is too late to do what Setsuna wants us to do. It doesn't, however, mean it has to be the end of Chibiusa or Crystal Tokyo. I know if there is a way to protect the future, Usagi will find it and do it, but it won't be the path that her future had used before. Whether that is good or bad, who knows, but I am worried that Setsuna will not be deterred by your refusal to help her."

"Why would Queen Serenity make up a past romance for Usagi and Mamoru?" Minako asked the cats.

"I think it was wishful thinking," Artemis suggested. "She always wanted them to fall for each other because of her own ties to the Earth King, and Endymion was willing but the Princess never wanted him. Maybe she thought they would succeed where their past lives had failed."

"She didn't fail; she was murdered," Minako countered.

"I'm just postulating."

"I'm for one, am glad she's no longer with Mamoru. What a putz!" Rei snarled.

"Rei-chan!" Ami chided.

"Seriously. He throws flowers. That's not a power. He's too old for her. He wears that ugly jacket, and he broke up with her over a stupid dream? Really! Not to mention what a baka he was when she moved on to Diamond."

Luna started to chuckle. "I can't say I disagree, but Mamoru means well."

"He does. He's just a putz! Going back in time to test his love for his wife. Who does that? Shouldn't he know if he loves her?"

"I was thinking about that too," Minako said. "If he had to test his love, maybe he didn't even love her in the future that he knows."

* * *

While the inner senshi were debating Mamoru's putzness on a scale of 1-7, Diamond and Usagi were hanging out with Esmeralda, Rubeus and some of their college friends.

Usagi was wearing a black leather dress with stiff cups and a pattern at the hip. "You look like a modern Xena," Rubeus told her.

"Huh!"

"You don't know Xena the Warrior Princess. Where was your childhood woman?"

"In Tokyo."

"Oh, dang. They syndicated it on Black Moon."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. They love trashy heroine shows. There's this senshi show that's popular there, may as well be porn."

Esmeralda rolled her eyes. "The actress who plays Sailor Mars is ugly."

"Haha!"

Someone yelled out time for body shots. Usagi had never done one before and was surprised when Diamond put a shot glass in her cleavage and fished it out with his mouth.

"That's the classy way of doing it," Rubeus said. "Here's the fun way." He poured a shot down Esmeralda's chest and licked it up, causing Usagi to blush and Esmeralda to roll her eyes.

"You done yet."

"Come on. That was more fun for you than it was for me."

"You're not the one who's sticky."

"That's what you think."

Endymion was in the bar, watching from the corner. His Serenity barely drank. How was her predecessor, underage, in a bar, with another man? Now he's doing a shot off her chest. What would Serenity think if she saw this? Was she secretly like this when he had gone away to America?

He lost them in the crowd of bars. They had visited a few before they called it a night.

* * *

Usagi tried to sleep in on Sunday morning, but she was unsuccessful. Chibiusa was sent to wake her up. "Pancakes!" she yelled as she jumped up and down on Usagi's bed, shaking the girl awake.

"What?"

"Pancakes, sleepyhead Odango!"

"Ugh! 5 more minutes."

"I'm going to eat your pancakes." The girl ran downstairs.

Usagi dragged herself downstairs to eat.

"Told you I'd eat your pancakes," Chibiusa said as she took the last of them. Usagi just took them off her plate.

"Hey!"

"Haha!" The two girls bickered and eventually shared the stack of pancakes.

"You took a bigger half!" Chibiusa complained.

"I'm bigger."

"In the belly!"

"You take that back!"

Ikuko rolled her eyes. "What silly girls!"

After breakfast, Chibiusa went to watch the Sunday morning cartoons. Usagi started on her homework, and she was just about to change subjects when Luna came in through the window.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Usagi said as she looked up.

"I've been with Artemis and then I had to see the other senshi."

"Is something wrong?"

"It's not youma, but it is a problem." Luna explained how Setsuna had convened a meeting with the other senshi and how she is determined to get you back with Mamoru.

"Do you think she's dangerous?" Usagi asked her, worried that something might happen to Diamond.

"I think she's well-meaning, but the path to hell is paved with good intentions. If she doesn't calm down, she might do something really stupid."

Usagi was not happy with that answer. "What should I do?"

Luna wasn't sure what to tell her. "You could try reaching out to her, but you have to be careful. Her actions last night were bordering insubordination. You don't want to encourage that, but you also don't want a confrontation with her if you can avoid it. Maybe you should meet the other outer senshi first? They can give you some insight on Setsuna."

Luna had not spoken to the guardian of time since the Silver Millennium.

Usagi decided to go back to her homework and then figure out what to do about Setsuna.

She didn't do anything for a couple of days. She did tell Diamond and Sapphire to be careful, but neither of them was too worried about her. While Setsuna decided to take some time to plan her next action, Endymion was more impulsive.

* * *

Diamond and Usagi came to pick up Chibiusa from school one day when a man came out and starting yelling at him. "Leave my daughter alone you scoundrel!"

Diamond tightened his hold on the girl. "Who the heck is that?"

"It must be King Endymion." Usagi looked at him. "Why are you making a scene?"

"Me. What am I supposed to do, sit back and do nothing while my daughter is in the custody of a harlot and a pimp?"

Usagi's jaw dropped. Diamond's did as well and Chibiusa said, "what's a harlot? And what's a pimp?"

"They are not words that six year olds should concern themselves with."

"I'm almost seven!"

"Get in the car," Diamond hissed as he handed Usagi the key and Chibiusa. He squared up against the King.

"I don't know what you're trying to do here, but if you call Usagi out of her name again, I'll make you eat your words."

"Is that right?" the futuristic man mocked.

"Shouldn't you go home to your wife? I mean, if she's still your wife that is." Diamond struck a nerve. Endymion went for a punch and missed. "You're still impulsive and hot tempered, just like last time."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The king went for a second punch, missing again.

"Don't you remember? The last time we fought, I killed you. I'd hate to do it again."

The king tried to kick him, but Diamond blocked it with his leg. "Give up while you're behind." He shoved the man to the ground got in his car and drove off.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Diamond said as he got to the main road.

"I haven't seen him that mad in a long time," Chibiusa said as she curled into a ball.

"I can't believe he'd act like that in front of his own daughter."

"I might not be his daughter anymore," she grumbled. She had felt the connection she had to Endymion dying, and now it might finally be broken.

"What did you say?"

"Don't worry about it. Can you take me to Setsuna? I need to talk to her."

Usagi pursed her lips, but she wasn't surprised that Chibiusa knew her too. "I don't know where she lives. Do you?"

The girl shook her head. "Can I borrow your phone?"

Chibiusa gave the woman a call. She had kept her number written down on a pice of paper she kept in her backback.

"Hi, Setsuna. It's Chibiusa. You told me to tell you if I saw him. Yeah, he showed up at my school and made a scene. Can we talk? Where do you live? I'm on my way."

She gave the address and Diamond drove. When they got there, Chibiusa ran out of the car and knocked on the door.

"Should we go with her?" Diamond asked.

Usagi shrugged. "I would think so, but I never know with Chibiusa. She's full of secrets."

"You go up to the door with her, and I'll wait in the car. Wave to me, if you want me to join you."

She kissed his cheek and went after Chibiusa. Setsuna had just opened the door when she saw that Usagi was there with her.

"Small Lady, Princess. Come inside."

She shut the door, effectively telling Diamond to stay put.

"Can you tell me what happened today?" She looked at Chibiusa.

"He showed up and yelled at Diamond. He called Usagi a harlot and Diamond a pimp, but they wouldn't tell me what that means. Then he tried to fight Diamond, but he kept missing. They were arguing over something, but Usagi put me in the car, so I couldn't hear. Then Diamond shoved him down and we left. Then I called you and we came here."

"I see, and have either of you seen him before?"

"They shook their heads."

"I do, however, think he's been haunting Mamoru's dreams, but you probably already know that."

Setsuna didn't answer with words, but her eyes said everything. "I'm sure he's quite confused. He has been with Serenity for over 1000 years at this point."

_He reminded me of why I dumped Mamoru_, Usagi said to herself. The Earth Prince had seen her as a little girl and not a woman. When he did see her "all grown up" at the club, his first reaction was to think she had been scandalized, that Diamond had made her into some kind of slut. She resented that. Why shouldn'y she be proud of her body and be able to enjoy herself without being deemed loose.

"But the present is changing, which means the future is changing too. When will he catch up?" More importantly, when will you?

"I don't think it's that simple. You can't expect his memories to just vanish."

"Wouldn't they if he goes back home? His memories are based on what happened to Mamoru from now until 1000 years into the future. If Mamoru makes different choices now, then the basis for Endymion's memories will change. Right now, he thinks he's in love with Serenity, but if Mamoru loves another, won't he love her too?"

"Mamo-chan has a new girlfriend," Chibiusa said. "She's pretty and graceful." She gave Usagi an eye.

Usagi rolled her eyes at the girl. They both looked at Setsuna for an answer.

She did not have one to give. No, she did have an answer, but not one she wanted to tell the Princesses. "Mamoru and Endymion are linked, but they are not identical. Eventually, they will converge as one but until then, it is unclear how Endymion will react to the changes in the present. You cannot change the future by making a couple manipulations in this time."

"So, we can still form Crystal Tokyo and have Chibiusa even if I don't marry him."

"That's not what I said at all."

"Actually, I think it is. Thanks Setsuna."

Usagi skipped away. Chibiusa chuckled until Setsuna glared at her. Then she stopped.

"And to think, someday, she'll be a queen," Chibiusa remarked as the girls made their exit.


	19. Fights and Flights

Trapped in a time that wasn't his, Endymion grew desperate, trying to find a way to get Usagi to go back to being the girl that he had once known, hoping she would grow up to be the woman that he now loved.

He became obsessive, watching Usagi as she went to her home, to school, out with her friends, with that wretched man Diamond. Gone was the clumsy, video-game obsessed, terrible student that she had once been. She had become more graceful, more studious and more sensual. Her encounters with Mamoru were casual at best and not very frequent. He seemed over her, which Endymion could not understand.

While Endymion spied on the present, Setsuna tried to read the future. She saw Diamond taking Chibiusa and Usagi to the Negaverse. She could not allow it. The first thing she did was contact Haruka and Michiru.

"I need to show you something in my mirror."

They came over straight away to see what Setsuna had seen. "But how is that possible? He's just a normal human, isn't he?"

They went back to their research. Diamond and Sapphire were both adopted. "Could they be, adopted from the Negaverse?"

* * *

Friday Night was date night. Chibiusa had a play date too, but then her friend got pink eye. Now, the girl had no one to watch her as everyone else made plans.

Usagi was about to go on her date when she heard the girl crying.

"What is it, Chibiusa?"

"Everyone has dates and I'm here alone."

"I thought you were going to your friend's house."

"She's sick."

Diamond rang the doorbell. Usagi said she'd be right back.

"I don't think I can go out tonight. There's no one to watch Chibiusa."

"Why not take her with us?"

"To the restaurant."

"It's a casual restaurant. I'm sure they have a kid's menu."

Usagi went to get her. "Do you want to come to dinner with us?"

"Really?" She didn't think Usagi would bring her on her date.

"Of course. I'm not leaving you here alone. Come on."

They took Chibiusa with them. The restaurant had spaghetti and meatballs, so she was quite content.

Diamond got the shrimp scampi and Usagi got a pizza.

They were on their way to get ice cream for dessert when Diamond noticed a car coming at them with great speed. He tried to evade it, but the car kept following.

"Hold on tight!" He hit the gas pedal, desperate to get away.

Haruka and Michiru gave chase. "This little bugger's fast," Haruka said as she changed gears. "But not fast enough."

They went blazing down the road. Just when Haruka was about to ram him, Diamond spun around at the last minute, going the other direction. It was then when she saw Chibiusa in the back.

"Little Princess?" She stopped, not wanting to injure the child and Diamond got away.

"What the hell was that about?" Diamond wondered. "Did you know them?"

Both girls shook their heads.

* * *

Haruka called Setsuna. "We had to let them get away."

"What? Why?"

"Chibiusa was in the car. Otherwise, I would have rammed it."

"I'm hacking his GPS now. I'll text you when he stops."

Usagi called Luna on the communicator. She told her about the incident and described the two women.

"That sounds like Sailors Uranus and Neptune."

"Why they would attack?"

"I have no idea, but this sounds like a reason to convene the other senshi."

Usagi called all of them and told them where they were going.

* * *

Over an hour later, Diamond arrived at his beach house. He parked the car and the trio got inside.

"Do you think they'll find us here?" Usagi asked Diamond as they went upstairs.

"They might, since they found us before, but we'll handle it, together." He gave her a tender kiss. She moaned in his mouth.

"Blech!" Chibiusa said, not that they heard her.

* * *

Sapphire and Minako got there first. "Are you sure your dad won't mind us borrowing his car?"

"It's the spare car," she said, that she isn't allowed to borrow.

He parked it in the garage next to Diamond's car and they went inside.

Usagi heard the door open and peered down the staircase.

"Mina-chan, Sapphire!" She pulled her friend into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Usagi-chan, calm down. We won't let them do anything to you."

Rei and Esmeralda showed up next. "So this is the party?" Makoto and Ami showed up after that and then they were all there.

"So why the hell did they attack you?" Makoto questioned.

"I don't know," Diamond said. "They tried to ram my car, but I got away."

"Good thing we did. Chibiusa was in the back."

The little girl was asleep upstairs.

They started discussing a game plan when they saw a flashing light. "That must be them."

"Stay inside, Usagi," Rei told her as the other senshi ran outside.

Sailors Uranus and Neptune came out in a fighting stance.

"What are you all doing here?" Haruka growled.

"We should be asking you that," Ami retorted.

"Why the hell did you try to attack Usagi and Chibiusa?"

"We weren't aiming for them. It's her boyfriend. He's from the Negaverse," Michiru explained.

"So?" Rei snapped. "We knew that!"

"YOU WHAT!" Haruka retorted. "You let her date a villain!"

"He's not a villain. Not everyone from the Negaverse is bad," Ami answered.

"You gotta be kidding. No way is our Princess canoodling with a thug from outer space."

"You can't tell her who to canoodle with," Makoto retorted.

"If you won't move, we'll make you move."

The scouts started fighting.

"Jupiter Supreme Thunder!"

"Uranus World Shaking!"

The senshi were stuck in a stalemate. It was two on four, but Sailors Uranus and Neptune had the advantage on fighting experience. There was also a hesitation to cause serious injury on both sides, especially from Sailor Mercury. Her alliegience was with the Princess, but she could hardly stomach the idea of fighting another senshi.

Usagi felt helpless. She knew it was for her own safety, but she couldn't bear to watch her girls fight without her.

Diamond came downstairs and stayed with Usagi. "It's me they want, isn't it."

"Yeah," she told him.

"I won't let your friends get hurt for me."

Diamond ran outside before Usagi could stop him.

"END THIS AT ONCE!" They heard his loud voice bellowing in the night and instantly stopped their duel. "You are all supposed to be on the same side, not fighting each other, and for what, because Sailor Pluto couldn't mind her own business."

"You little …." Haruka poised herself to attack, but Diamond raised his hands.

"Don't start something you won't be able to finish," he cautioned.

"You have NO business being with our Princess."

"So why don't you just go home."

"I've waited 1000 years to be reunited with her, and I won't let two classist, unsubordinate senshi get in my way."

Before they could attack, he hypnotized them both. _You are craving waffles and cannot rest until you eat them._

They promptly got in the car and drove away.

"How did you do that?" Mars aked.

"I hypnotized them. They won't be able to rest until they get some waffles."

"What?" Makoto glared at him. "Waffles?"

"There's no place to get waffles around here. It will take them at least two hours to find waffles, eat them and come back, and by then, I'll be gone."

He went inside. "Usagi, we need to find somewhere safe. We need to leave Tokyo."

She had come to the same realization while they were fighting. They couldn't hide very well inside the city.

"Did you want to drive somewhere?"

"I had a different idea."

Michiru was searching for diners on her phone while Haruka was driving at top speed.

"WHY CAN'T I FIND A FUCKING DINER?" Michiru screamed.

"SERIOUSLY! I NEED SOME FUCKING WAFFLES!" Haruka replied. The two women yelled in a frenzy about their waffles until they finally found a diner. They waited impatiently and once the waffles were delivered, they almost took off the server's hand eating them. It wasn't until their plates were empty that they could finally think straight.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Haruka asked.

"I don't know. I just had to have a waffle."

"SHIT" both girls yelled. They paid quickly and rushed out, racing to get back to the beach house. Of course, they needed gas on the way. By the time they got there, the house was empty.

"Where did they go?"

* * *

Chibiusa woke up in between Diamond and Usagi. They didn't want her to be scared waking up alone in an unfamiliar place, so they brought her to sleep with them.

"Where are we?" she growled as she opened her eyes. They looked like they were still out, so she climbed over Usagi and hopped out of bed. She found a pair of slippers that looked like her size and put them on.

When she got out of the room, she realized she was in the Black Moon Palace, recognizing the hallway. It was early morning. Daylight hadn't broken yet, but the girl had fallen asleep much earlier than everyone else. Before she knew it, her small feet ended up in the kitchen where the bread-youma was making dough.

"Good morning Princess," she said in a jovial voice as she prepared the bread rolls.

Luna came home in the morning to find Chibiusa and Usagi still gone. Artemis saw that Minako was missing too and they couldn't find any of the other senshi.

"But that's so odd. We didn't detect any youma last night."

They tried the communicators and no one was in range.

"Where could they have gone?"

Michiru and Haruka had the same question. They saw no trace of any of them in Tokyo and when they went to Setsuna, Endymion was already there.

"She's not the Usagi I remember," Endymion told her. "Will she become the Serenity I know now?"

Sailor Pluto didn't want to lie to him, but she knew that she would not. "I can't say how her her behavior now will impact Serenity. I can't see that far ahead into the future."

The two senshi waited for Setsuna to be done with Endymion before they reported their failure.

* * *

Usagi woke up to find it was just she and Diamond in bed.

"Where's Chibiusa?"

"She must have woken up," Diamond mumbled. The two lovers turned to face each other.

Usagi smiled. "We have some time before breakfast," she said breathily.

Diamond hopped out of bed and locked their bedroom door. Usagi waited for him to return and when he did, she threw her arms around him, pulling him back into bed.

His lips crashed on to hers. They battled in the sheets, grabbing and pulling at each other, pajamas rolling off of them until they were naked and tangled in their bed sheets.

His lips pressed into her neck, his teeth sinking into her flesh as she moaned loudly. He left marks on her neck and chest, claiming her flesh as she arched her back, pressing her body into him. "I need you," she hissed against his ear as she grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a passionate kiss. Her tongue invaded his mouth as her nails dug into his skin.

He quickly hardened against her. He needed her too and he hoped there were condoms in the drawer beside them. He cursed himself for not taking her to get the pill already. He fumbled in the drawer, finding a box that he struggled to open with one hand. He felt a wrapper and pinched, feeling like those arcade games that never actually hold onto the toy.

He finally grabbed a condom and broke from Usagi to unfurl it on himself. She spread her legs. She was already wet for him. "Now," she husked.

He grabbed her hips and thrusted into her, causing her to cry in pleasure, "OH DIAMOND!"

He pulled her into his arms and started to rock his hips back and forth. "OH FUCK!" he muttered as he got lost in her tight heat.

She locked her legs around his hips and moaned for more, "Faster!"

He moved faster and faster until he was in a frenzy. The couple covered each other in bite marks and scratches as they moaned and bucked their hips wildly, impatient and desperate for a release.

"DIAMOND! OH! OH! OOOOHHHHH!" Usagi cried loudly as she came and she trembled under him. She held him close as he continued to thrust.

"USAGI!" he hissed as he let go, collapsing on top of her.

Once they recovered, they went into the bathroom for a hot shower, washing each other tenderly as they kissed under the water. When they came out, Usagi saw the red marks on her front. "I hope I have my foundation," she said with a blush.

"I most certainly do not have foundation," Diamond retorted.

Usagi luckily did pack her makeup and proceeded to hide the love bites that could still be seen once she dressed. She went to put on clothes and was surprised to find that her clothes from yesterday were gone.

"The laundry youma probably took them," Diamond told her. "Check the closet."

Sure enough, there were hanging clothes in Usagi's size. She found a yellow sundress to wear.

There was a knock on their door. "Breakfast is ready."

The couple proceeded down the hall to the dining room where Chibiusa was already seated and talking to the Queen.

"I think it will be time for me to go home soon," Chibisua said to the monarch. The young princess could feel her connection to her mother growing stronger, signaling that she has woken up.

"I'm sure your parents miss you very much."

* * *

"It's about time you two woke up," Chibiusa chastised as the couple came into the dining room.

"You woke up super early," Usagi insisted as she sat down next to her.

The others tumbled down to breakfast as well. Rei and Esmeralda clearly had sex hair. Diamond snickered at them.

"Shut up!" Esmeralda said to him, feigning irritation.

Makoto looked like she had just woken up. She could barely keep her eyes open.

Ami looked tired but better than Makoto. They both had a late night. Sapphire looked ready to eat, holding his silverware as he grinned and Minako had a smile on her face. "Breakfast smells good."

Once they were all seated, the servers came out, bringing rolls, butter, jam, juice and coffee to start. They took orders. There were pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns.

"Pancakes!" Chibiusa called first, "with some syup and butter please and a side of bacon."

They all placed their orders and a few minutes later, their food arrived. Usagi dug in hungrily, "this is sooooo good!" She ate monstrously, devouring her food as the others watched on in wonder. No matter how many times they had seen her eat, it was amazing.

"Could I get an omelet and some toast, and sausage?"

"Where does it go?" Esmeralda asked, still stunned by Usagi's appetite.

"I think her crystal uses a lot of energy," Sapphire suggested.

Usagi chugged her juice. "Fresh squeezed juice, I am so spoiled here!"

As the group enjoyed their breakfast, Luna and Artemis went to check on the outer senshi. They found Sailors Uranus and Neptune at Setsuna's house.

"This can't be good!" Luna said as she saw Endymion leaving.

"Why is he here?" Artemis asked.

"I don't know."

The two cats hid under the open window, straining to hear the conversation inside.

"How did you lose them exactly?" Setsuna asked them before she checked her mirror.

"I'm not sure. We got to the house and then we got into a scuffle with the inner senshi. Then, Diamond came out and the next thing I know, we were eating waffles." Haruka told her.

"I think he cast a spell or something," Michiru added. "We got back to the house and everyone was gone. "

"So you're telling me you lost the princess, four of the senshi and the brothers?" Setsuna said with a scowl.

"We also lost Chibiusa!" Haruka told her.

Now Setsuna was bright red! "You LOST SMALL LADY!"

"She must be with Usagi," Haruka responded.

"She didn't come outside."

Through her mirror, Setsuna looked back to last night. She saw the group along with a woman she didn't recognize all teleporting together, Usagi holding a sleeping Chibiusa.

"BLACK MOON TRANSPORT!" The brothers had yelled in unison. They fled to the Negaverse. Now what the hell was she going to tell Endymion?

* * *

"They're on Black Moon," she told them.

"They went to the NEGAVERSE!"

Luna and Artemis could hear the yelling from the window.

"They are on the Black Moon?" Luna wasn't expecting that.

"They must be hiding from the outer senshi."

"They can't stay there forever."

The cats ran to Minako's. They needed to think about what to do next. They were short on allies.

"If only we had a way of reaching them," Luna muttered.

Artemis thought for a minute. "What about Diamond's friends? Could they take us to the palace?"

They tried Esmeralda, but she wasn't home.

"She might be with them now."

They tried Rubeus next, no sign of him.

"What about Trig?"

They went to Diamond's house to see Rubeus and Trig.

Luna hopped in the windowsill and called to them inside. "Could you let us in?"

Rubeus got the door. "My two favorite talking cats, what's going on?"

"We went looking for Usagi and the others, and they all fled to the Black Moon. Can you transport us there?"

"That's where everyone is? I just got a text saying, 'yo dude. Can you feed Trig for the next few days?'"

"There was some kind of fight and they all fled."

"Huddle up everyone!" Rubeus had never transported all by himself, but it was just him, a little dog and two cats. Hopefully, this all worked. "BLACK MOON TRANSPORT!"


	20. Leadership

After breakfast, Usagi and Diamond explained to his mother why they had come in the middle of the night.

"They started chasing us after we left dinner," Diamond started. "I think they were going to ram us until they saw Chibiusa in the back."

"We fled to the beach house, but they must have known about it because they followed us there."

"To stop the fight, I hyponitzed them into wanting waffles, so they would go look for a diner, and we came here while they were gone."

"Waffles! We should have chicken and waffles for breakfast tomorrow," the Queen said giddly.

"Well, now that breakfast is taken care of, all of our problems are solved," retorted Sapphire.

"Don't be a snot," his mother told him. The Queen turned back to Diamond. "I wish it weren't this way, but we're from the Negaverse. People are going to see the worst in us. People didn't want you with the Princess in your last life, and they won't want you with her now. You have to walk a difficult line between protecting yourself and not losing your temper. They want you to become a monster. You can't let them win."

Usagi took his hand in hers. "I'm not going to let them separate us," she said. I just wish I knew what to do.

Diamond kissed her hand. "Me neither."

"Why don't you take Usagi and her friends to the circus?" his mother suggested. "It's in town this weekend."

"The Circus!" shouted Chibiusa. "Take me!"

An hour later, the group was leaving the palace in a carrage headed for the circus.

"What kind of animals do they have here?" Usagi asked Diamond.

"They're like the ones on Earth, sort of."

Sapphire snickered. "Let's just say they're a bit more feral than the ones you would see in Tokyo."

When they arrived, the crowd was huge, swarms of people descending on different tents and vendors. The crowd looked rough, like they had come from some alien form of Hells' Angels.

"That guy has a cool tattoo," Chibiusa pointed at a man with a tattoo of a unicorn.

"Be wary of them. The unicorns are a notorious gang," Sapphire cautioned.

"The unicorn gang?" Rei questioned.

"They tend to pick innocuous names, but what's in a name if they're stabbing you?"

Rei didn't say anything else about them.

They went into one area where a tiger looked like he was trying to eat his handler.

"Is that the trick?" Chibiusa asked.

"I think the handler's just trying to live," Sapphire answered.

They went on to the next tent where they had somehow fit 3 giants in a little clown car.

The next tent had a unicorn that went on a rampage, slashing its handler before running out wildly. Soemone called for the snipers to come shoot it. Usagi was horrified.

"They can't shoot a unicorn!"

"It's probably possessed," Diamond told her.

Usagi quickly transformed, "Moon Crystal Power!"

She went running after the unicorn. Diamond handed Chibiusa to Sapphire. "Keep her safe."

He went running after Usagi. The other senshi were already hot on her tail.

The unicorn was almost all white, with black eyes and a silver-purple horn. The handler's blood streaked down its fur. Patrons were used to such outburst and there was little fuss about it. It was like seeing a pickpocket in Time Square, nothing to write home about.

Diamond was concerned that Sailor Moon's powers wouldn't work on Black Moon. Rei was worried that their leader was going to get shot. "Call back those snipers."

"STAND DOWN!" The Prince bellowed at them. They looked to see their rarely seen prince waving at them. What the heck is he doing with those girls going towards a wild unicorn?

Usagi tried to talk to the unicorn. "Please, let me help you!"

The unicorn looked. It saw her innocent blue eyes and charged.

A white light burst from Sailor Moon. She turned into her Princess form and yelled, "Moon Healing Activation!"

A black demon emerged from the unicorn, turning into ash and blowing away in the wind. The unicorn collapsed, exhausted after running around like crazy and being possessed. A team of employees rushed in, carting out the tired animal.

The crowd was actually surprised for once. The Moon Princess was back and on the Black Moon of all places. Why would she come to the Negaverse?

With her work done, the Moon Princess turned back into Usagi. She was tired too.

"You did it!" Rei was stunned. She was sure that this was going to end poorly.

"I couldn't let them shoot him. It wasn't his fault he got possessed. Can we get something to eat? I'm hungry."

* * *

The journey to Black Moon felt longer the second time around. It was longer. Rubeus had made a wrong turn at the Moon and had to double back. They finally got there. He was beat. "To the palace," he mumbled, trying not to fall asleep.

They made their way there and the guards let them in.

"I was wondering when you stragglers would get here," the Queen said as she came out of her chambers.

Rubeus thanked her for letting them stay and promptly went to take a nap.

"Everyone else is at the circus," the Queen told them.

Luna, however, had some questions for the Queen. "How much of the Silver Millenium do you remember?" Luna realized she needed to know more about the past to figure out what to do about their problems now.

"Let's go to my office." The two cats followed the Queen while Trig went to the kitchen.

Her office was large enough to be a suite. It had a small room for a secretary, not that she had one, a huge desk, office chairs and a small conference table. She had a larger conference table in another room in the palace. The room was adorned in marble and oak, the walls dark green.

"Take a chair."

The two cats shared a chair, sitting across from her, her desk between them.

"Did you know Sailor Pluto in the Silver Millenium?" Artemis asked her.

The Queen shrugged. "Not personally, but I saw her with Queen Serenity. She was always chasing the woman around like a lovesick puppy."

The cats weren't surprised. They knew Setsuna had been quite fond of their fallen Queen.

"How well did you know Queen Serenity?"

"Well enough such that we despised each other." She had a flippant tone when she spoke. Her answer caught Luna off guard, even though Luna knew that Queens Pearl and Serenity didn't like each other

"Why did you despise each other?" Luna asked her.

"Well I can't speak for her, well I guess I can since she's dead. I thought she was a classist bitch, and she thought I was a no good thief. I'm sure she saw herself as good and peaceful, and I saw myself as a social revolutionary. History's a funny thing. The survivors get to tell the story and they have the most reason to lie because usually, they did something not so nice to make sure they didn't die."

"And what did you do to survive the Silver Millenium?" Artemis inquired. "If you don't mind answering that."

"Nothing really since no one was crazy enough to attack Black Moon in the first place. I heard that there was a problem at the Moon Kingdom. I got there just in time to see my son crying over Princess Serenity's body. Everyone was either dead or dying and before I could get to him, he killed himself with his own sword. Then, I saw Queen Serenity use the last of her life force to port her daughter and her senshi 1000 years into the future. Then, I used my mimic-youma to copy Queen Serenity's power, so I could port Diamond into the future."

"What did you mean when you said you were a social revolutionary?" Luna asked.

"I doubt this ever effected you, but being from Nemesis, travel restrictions made it very hard to do anything. I couldn't travel freely as most planets had prohibited people from the Negaverse from coming there without a special permit, which no one could get. No one would trade with us unless we paid some ridiculous tariff. It made life terrible here, people fighting viciously for scarce resources.

People couldn't get jobs. We only knew of the universe from books and everyone else got to travel. When I was growing up, I thought it was just bad because we had a bad king, so I led a rebellion to depose him, but once I became Queen of the Black Moon, I saw how it was the world that needed to change, so I started writing letters to kings and queens, trying to get them to ease their restrictions on travel, so that we could work and trade and live amongst the rest of the world. Most of them refused. The ones that accepted just considered us cheap labor that could be exploited.

I thought I could make the first move and I ended all visa requirements, well except there was a fee. Everyone could come to the Black Moon. I thought if I made it exciting and people wanted to come, we'd gain acceptance. Instead, all the planets just started dumping their worst offenders on us. Queen Serenity was the worst. She'd just sent spacecrafts full of her own people. Sure they were murderous and no good, but a Queen is everyone's queen, not just the subjects you like.

I had to do something with these criminals, so I found a remote area on Black Moon to put them on and they started farming, building roads, schools. They weren't very good roads and school buildings, but they existed and things started to look better for a while. Eventually, there were too many convicts. I couldn't find space for them all, so tried to buy a territory belonging to Mars, Phobos, I think it's called. No one lived there, so why not.

Right before the deal closed, however, Queen Serenity talked the King of Mars out of it, saying he wouldn't want my people on his planet. I got mad, so I seized the moon for my country and I put my prisoners on it and got them to work. They got mad, saying I violated some customary international law or some crap, but I figured, if I didn't sign it, I'm not bound by it."

"I can't believe our Queen just dumped her subjects on you," Artemis said, not accusing Pearl of lying, but shocked he never knew about it.

"Serenity and I didn't get along because she wanted a kingdom where everyone was good and compliant, and she was fine with casting away everyone who wasn't. The world just doesn't work that way. You can't have good without bad, light without darkness, fear without hope, both with individual people and with society at large.

Everyone has some good in them and some not so good and how you treat them can help influence what parts you see. No matter how bad you are, I think everyone deserves a life, hope for a better future, and a chance of making something for himself. I thought I could give a chance to the people the rest of the world was fine with forgetting, but I couldn't do it alone. When I didn't get the support I thought I should have gotten from the rest of the world, we started marauding."

"Y'all became pirates?" Luna asked.

"I prefer the term marauding. It sounds more dignified, but yes. I didn't authorize it at first. I didn't even know that was how my construction companies were getting their materials, but when I found out, I didn't stop them. I thought that if we could take just enough to get ourselves established, we could have enough clout to change things. We could really be international players. Well, unfortunately, everything came to a crashing halt when the Silver Millenium fell apart, and we never got the chance."

Luna had never thought about why people from the Negaverse stole. She just assumed, well they are thieves so they take. It was weird hearing an explanation, which did not sound totally unreasonable.

"I do have hope, however, that we will get a chance to shine this time around."

The group returned from the circus. Chibiusa fell asleep on the way back. One of the servants carried her to a bedroom.

"I'm exhausted," Usagi growled as they went into the living room.

"You did kill a demon," Diamond noted as he wrapped his arms around her. Usagi closed her eyes and leaned on Diamond's shoulder. She could have fallen asleep if she hadn't heard her name being called.

"Luna? Artemis. How did you get here?"

"No thanks to you," Luna growled. Why couldn't she have used her communicator before they left?

"Rubeus teleported us."

Usagi could tell Luna was a bit grouchy about being left behind. She scooped up her advisor. "I'm sorry about taking off without a word, but we were pressed for time. Sailors Uranus and Neptune attacked out of no where."

Luna couldn't stay mad at the flighty girl. "We know. We went to Setsuna's and heard them tell her about how they had lost you all."

"What is their endgame?" Minako asked. "It's not like they can make them break up."

"I think their goal is to drive him off Earth," Artemis said.

"Or kill him if he won't leave," Luna added.

Usagi gulped when she heard that. "But he hasn't done anything. Senshi aren't supposed to kill innocents."

"I don't think these senshi care too much about the rules," Sapphire cautioned.

"Unfortunately he's right," Luna said. "The outers have always been more, well, the ends justify the means. It's a bit more wild in the outer planets."

"There has to be a way to stop them," Ami said, "well other than fighting them. I don't want to fight them again."

Luna and Artemis looked at each other. Should they tell Usagi? Artemis nodded. Luna sighed. "There is a way, but you won't like it."

"I won't kill them," Usagi exclaimed.

"Not that," Luna said exasperated. "Your crystal is powerful enough to take their powers. If they won't stand down, you can kick them out of the senshi."

"It's never been done before," Artemis said to her, "but we've never had a problem quite like this." Both cats hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it might be the most non-violent option.

"Is it reversible?" Rei asked.

"It should be, why?" Artemis asked her.

"You could take their powers for a little while, like a suspension, until they calm down."

Usagi shook her head. "That will just make them more angry when they come back. I can't let this be an on off switch. It's hard enough being a senshi. Think about trying to be a senshi with the threat of me taking your powers looming over your head every day. That would just be unbearable."

The other senshi looked at each other. She had a point. None of them would take it well if Usagi threatened to kick them out of the scouts.

"So what do we do?" Makoto asked.

"I have to try and reason with them. It's my decision they're questioning and my leadership."

Diamond did not like the idea of her going to see them alone. "Should I go with you?"

"NO!" said everyone.

"You're the person who they want to kill," Makoto reminded him.

"I know, but they haven't really met me yet. Maybe I can win them over."

No one liked that idea.

"Maybe Makoto should go instead," Sapphire suggested.

Everyone looked at him.

"What, she can pack the biggest punch."

Makoto laughed. "Alright. I'm in."

* * *

Endymion could feel his feelings for his wife fading away. Desperate to hold onto his relationship, he needed a way to get Usagi and Mamoru back together. He went in search of his former self, who was at Crown goofing off with Motoki, none of the senshi in sight.

"They always came here on Saturdays," Endymion muttered to himself. He tried looking for Usagi, but she was nowhere to be found and neither was Chibiusa. _They must have gone somewhere together, but where and with whom?_

Sailor Neptune was at home with her wife, still trying to make sense of what happened. Setsuna saw Diamond taking Usagi to the Negaverse in her mirror, so they had gone to stop him, just for their princess to end up on the Negaverse with him anyway, likely fleeing from them. "Can we escape the future?" Michiru asked herself.

"What?" Haruka asked her.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud."

"Since when do you think?"

"Humph!" Michiru threw a pillow at her.

The two girls got into a fight. Haruka had the upper hand, straddling her wife and "suffocating" her with a pillow until the doorbell rang. Michiru took advantage of the distraction and bopped Haruka in the face with a pillow.

The professional driver growled, rubbing her nose as she opened the door. It was Endymion.

"King Endymion? What brings you to here?"

She let him inside. He sat down and began to explain. "My marriage is in trouble."

"What did you do wrong, other than be a man?" Haruka laughed at herself, no one else did.

"I didn't do anything," he insisted. "But my feelings for Serenity are fading because Mamoru is falling out of love with Usagi. He's changing the future, and I don't know how to get them back together." The King was not about to lose his Queen.

So to make it better, not only is Usagi running around with a Negaverse villain, but Mamoru is out of love too. Getting them together will be easy.

"What can we do?" Michiru questioned.

"The last time we broke up, I rescued Serenity from a youma and we got back together. Maybe we could hire a youma to attack Usagi and Tuxedo Mask could rescue her."

"What?" Michiru thought that was crazy.

"Not bad," Haruka suggested, "but from where can you hire a youma?

"I don't know. I was hoping you knew," the King admitted.

Michiru thought this was nuts. "Have you lost it? We can't have a youma attack OUR princess."

"But it will be a fake attack," Haruka insisted. "She just won't know about it."

"But what if…." Michiru got cut off while her wife and the King plotted. IDIOTS!


	21. Confrontations and Farewells

Dinner was served at the palace. It was steak night and Usagi was tearing through her plate like rabid animal.

"THIS IS AMAZING!"

"Try tasting your food," Rei teased.

"Oh hush, this is awesome!" She had a ribeye and she was loving it.

Chibiusa was not used to steaks. She got a smaller filet mignon in case she didn't like it, but she ate it all happily.

They talked about happy things, their favorite shows at the circus, what they wanted to do tomorrow morning. None of them wanted to have the inevitable conversation; what happens when they go home tomorrow. Sure, Usagi and Makoto planned on talking to the outers, but what happens if they refuse to listen or accept her choices. Would Usagi permanently kick them out? Would it be another battle? Would they quit?

Finally Rubeus suggested, "maybe Diamond and Sapphire should stay here."

"What?" Diamond said.

"Until this dispute with the senshi is resolved. There's three of them and two of you and they know where you live, where your vacation house is, and presumably where you work and go to school. They might try to ambush you again."

"What would stop them from coming here?" Sapphire questioned.

"It would take them a lot longer to transport without dark crystals and it would be a lot harder to take on an entire palace of guards and your mother than it would be to sneak up on you."

Diamond grumbled. "He has a point."

"You're kidding," Sapphire hissed.

"I don't want to hide and I'm not saying that we will, but we have to think about what we'll do when we go back to Earth. I don't think we can just go back home and hope they don't attack again."

"They might be tracking your car," Ami added. "They did find you rather quickly."

"Well crap," Sapphire grumbled.

"Also, how can you hide from the guardian of time? If Setsuna's helping them, she'll find you anywhere," Rei added.

"Another reason to stay here," Rubeus added. "She knows you're here, but she'd have to be crazy to attack."

Pearl grumbled. "She might be crazy."

"What?" Luna questioned.

"She blames Diamond and probably me for the fall of the Silver Millenium. She was in love with Queen Serenity and if it hadn't fallen, she wouldn't have died, at least not when she did. She might do anything to keep Diamond and the Princess apart, even if it is crazy."

No one had a response to that.

"Well, we can't worry about it until something happens. Who wants lava cake?"

They ate their dessert, mostly in silence, but when they went to leave the table, an alarm went off.

"Oh crap, someone's breached the palace gate."

Guard youma came in ushering the Queen to one hiding spot and Diamond to another. A third group came and moved everyone else.

"Why were they separated?" Luna asked Sapphire.

"He's the next heir to the throne. They don't want them in the same place, so they don't both die in the same attack."

* * *

As the Queen had predicted, Setsuna attacked the palace. Michiru refused to go. She said it was one thing to fight them here, but she wasn't going to go to the Negaverse to attack them when their Princess, albeit stupidly, went voluntarily. Haruka was at odds with Michiru over senshi business for the first time in a very long time. She joined the Guardian of Time and the battle was on.

The butler-youma quickly tagged the senshi, so that they left light up footprints as they went, making it easy to follow their movements. He could not fight, so he thought that would be at least some way to help.

The guards had hidden Usagi and Chibiusa in separate rooms, again protecting two lines to a throne. Chibiusa didn't want to be alone so Rubeus went with her. "I'm not the best fighter, but I won't let anything happen to you."

"But what about my Dad?"

"Your Dad is here?"

Everything went to hell. She decided to tell him the truth. "I'm from the future. Diamond and Usagi are my parents, well they're supposed to be."

That explains how she's next in line to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Rubeus thought she was Usagi's cousin.

"I don't know how it will work out, but he'll be okay. You just have to believe it. Without hope, we don't have anything."

She started to cry. Rubeus held her.

* * *

The screams were the worst part of this, Usagi decided as she was with her senshi. Hearing youma scream was awful. Sure, she heard it when she fought in battle, but those were bad ones. Hearing the guards get hurt and the staff yelling in a panic was enough to shake the future Queen to the bone.

"I can't just sit back and do nothing," she said aloud, albeit softly. "They're my senshi and they're out of line. I have to reign them in."

She started to get up.

"What are you doing?" Rei hopped up.

"I can't just let them destroy the palace. I have to stop them."

"They'll just kidnap you," Rei snapped.

"They can try."

"You want to take on Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna alone."

"I don't want to, but I'm their leader. I can't just do nothing. It would be like letting your kid destroy a 7-11 while you take a cigarette break out back."

"What? You're not going alone."

"Thanks for volunteering to come with me."

Rei should have seen that coming.

Haruka and Setsuna got disoriented. "Where do you think they're hiding?"

"There seem to be many hidden rooms here. They might have split up."

"Why would they do that?"

"Typical Palace procedure to protect the heirs."

They made a right and then another one, just to realize that they had been in this hallway before. "See our footprints are here."

"Why are our footprints here?" Haruka grumbled.

"That youma at the door. He must have tagged us. Look." Setsuna ran in a circle, leaving glowing prints the whole way.

Haruka touched them. "It's not paint. I don't know what it is."

"Who cares?" We need to put a stop to this nonsense now!"

They took down a guard. Instead of taking him out, they demanded to know where Usagi and Diamond were.

"I'll never tell, not even if you kill me."

"Oh I can kill you." Haruka got ready to level him when Sailor Moon screamed.

"Sailor Uranus, Sailor Pluto, this ends now!"

"It can, just come home and leave the boyfriend here."

"I am not leaving without him," the leader insisted.

"What? You can't marry him," Pluto told her.

"Says who? You. My past was fiction. For all I know, the future you told me was a lie too."

"Don't you dare."

"Don't I dare what? I don't love Endymion. I never did, and I'm not going to marry him."

"You'll kill Chibiusa!" Haruka creamed.

"No, I won't. Mamo-chan and I will work it out, somehow."

"What about your other responsibilities? You're supposed to rule Crystal Tokyo together."

"Nope. I want to bring back the Moon Kingdom."

"What?" All of the senshi said.

"When I become Queen, it should be of my kingdom, not a planet that was never really mine to begin with."

"What about Diamond?" Ami asked her.

"I want him to be my King."

"Oh, hell no. You're not making that bastard king of the Moon Kingdom." Setsuna hissed. "And insult your mother's memory like that?"

"It's not his fault she died. If anything Endymion's father is to blame. He's the one who killed me in my last life."

"What?" Haruka questioned.

"Didn't Setsuna tell you what really happened?"

Usagi recounted an abridged version of the story Queen Pearl had told her, starting with her forced engagement to Endymion and discovering she was pregnant with Diamond's baby. "His father tried to cheat the duel. I died instead of Diamond and then the ensuing war destroyed the kingdom. Queen Beryl showed up and was able to destroy what was left in all the chaos. She was so crazed, she didn't even realize Endymion was already dead."

"So when we died it wasn't because of Beryl, it was because of a dispute over you that got out of control."

"Yeah, like this scene right now. I was too scared to choose him in my last life and everyone died. I'm not making that mistake again. I know you two think this is the right thing, but it isn't. He just wants to be with me, just like he did then. He doesn't even want the Black Moon throne." Diamond told her he'd give it up so they could run the Moon Kingdom together.

"Then who would take it?"

"Sapphire? I don't know."

Haruka started to change her mind. "Michiru was right. Forgive me Princess."

"It's not me you owe an apology to. It's Queen Pearl; this is her kingdom and her palace."

* * *

"I forgive you," the Queen said as she proceeded down the hall. When Sailor Moon went to stand up to Uranus and Pluto, the Queen decided to do the same. This is her Kingdom afterall. "You've been told nothing but bad things about me and my people in this life and in your last one. Believe me, people have done worse to this palace."

For the first time in over 1000 years, Setsuna saw Queen Pearl. She was enraged. How was it fair that she lived and was able to send her son to the future when Serenity died saving her daughter?

"You don't have to do this," the Queen told Setsuna. "I know you miss Serenity, but this won't bring her back."

"You have no idea how I feel."

"Yes, I do. I lost my King in a fight over a stupid river. He pushed me out of the way when these archers attacked. It's been over 1000 years since I've seen him. I still miss him everyday."

"If your kind didn't just steal left and right, this never would have happened."

"Maybe, or maybe if Serenity didn't ostracize us and then dump all of her undesirables in my Kingdom, we wouldn't have been so desperate for supplies. She wanted to better her kingdom, and she did what she felt was necessary to do it, so did I. I wasn't perfect, and I know she wasn't, but as a sovereign, I respected her success, even if I despised the way she got it.

There are a lot of what ifs that could have changed the fallout, and I have a lot of regrets, but they aren't about how I ran my Kingdom. They're about how I treated my son. I knew he loved Serenity. He was running away left and right. I had him followed once because I couldn't figure out where he was going or what he was doing. He would sneak into the Moon Kingdom or onto Venus or anywhere he could to be with her, and I could have tried to help him.

I could have offered a peace treaty to Queen Serenity. I could have given back the land I took, but instead, I prioritized my political goals over his happiness. Serenity did the same with her daughter and at what cost. We were so set on one-upping each other that we lost what meant most to us. Is it fair that she died and I lived? No. If I hadn't had a mimic-youma, I would have probably died too by sending my son into the future, but I had one. It wasn't about fairness; it was just chance.

"What the heck's a mimic-youma?" Haruka questioned.

"It mimics objects or powers that it sees so that I can use them one time."

"Only once?"

"I can leave and come back and if the youma sees it again he can redo it, but only one time per sighting. I saw Serenity port her daughter, and her daugher's senshi into the future and I was able to port my child with my youma. It died instead of me because it was its energy that did the porting."

"But I saw the future," Pluto stammered. "Mamoru and Usagi have Chibiusa. They have to."

"Hasn't the future been cloudy when you look at it?"

"It has? How did you know that?"

"Because I changed the past, so the future had to change with it."

"What?"

"When I ported my son into the future, I had him raised on Black Moon. Apparently, I did a crappy job because Death Phantom tricked him. He got them to attack Crystal Tokyo that's how Neo Queen Serenitiy got hurt, and Chibiusa came to the past to try and save her.

When you let her and Endymion through, I used another mimic-youma to copy the time key. I then went back to my sons' childhood and instead of raising them here, I had them adopted and raised by good people in Tokyo. Then I went and did a better seal on Death Phantom, so he couldn't get to them again. This time around they had the right start and instead of attacking Crystal Tokyo in the future, they ended up meeting the senshi in this time.

This is why the future is cloudy. The future you knew was based on events that now won't happen. Neo Queen Serenity is fine. She won't be attacked and Chibiusa will be able to go home, not to the world she knew, but the world that is being created now. She'll also need a new nickname."

"So Mamoru's not her father?"

"He never was. When Queen Serenity ported her daughter into the future, she sent both her daughter's starseed as well as her granddaughter's starseed, except Usagi couldn't be born with a baby inside of her, so that starseed got sent even further into the future. Chibiusa is Usagi and Diamond's daughter. She always has been. That's why she has pink hair and red eyes. My hair was pink before I became queen and she has her father's eyes."

Setsuna was starting to finally understand what Serenity had told her about the future. She had warned the senshi not to rely on her ability to see into it too much because sometimes all it takes is one action, one moment for everything to tailspin.

"You're careful, which is why I chose you, but sometimes, you are too careful. Sometimes you have to let things happen come what may." She meant moments like this. She should have just let Usagi and Diamond happen.

"For a thousand years, I blamed you and your people for the fall of the Silver Millenium, but you were no more to blame than anyone else. We all made choices that aided in the fall and I'm sorry it took me so long to see it."

"I forgive you Setsuna, and I'm sorry for your loss."

"And I am for yours. I just wish I could see her again."

"You can, well sort of."

* * *

Without waiting for an explanation, Setsuna followed the Queen down the hall. Usagi was curious too she she went along and then everyone followed her.

The security threat was over. Diamond followed the footprints to find the group. Chibiusa was asleep, so Rubeus put her in bed. Esmarelda and Sapphire managed to find a bottle of liquor that had been hidden in their safe room, and they got tanked.

When the Queen stopped, she was at the door of a control room. She called for her hologram youma and he came trotting down the hall. She set him up and before their eyes was a hologram of Queen Serenity.

There was a weakness in the wall between the living and the afterlife and this youma was able to manipulate it, projecting the late Queen's persona to them.

Setsuna started to cry. "It's been so long, my Queen."

"I know, and you've done so well. It's been such a long time for you to be alone. It's time, Honey."

"Time for what."

"To seal the gates of time. I'm relieving you from your post. You'll still be a senshi, but you won't have to watch the time gates anymore. It's been holding you back. You need to live your own life, fall in love again."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"I know you can. It's time to let me go."

Setsuna nodded. She didn't know if her heart could take that, but she was not about to argue.

"My child," she said facing Usagi. "You have grown so much. I know you will be a great Queen for the Moon Kingdom."

"I just want you to be proud of me."

"I always have been. I'm sorry I made up a past for you. I didn't know how to tell you that my own failures brought about the end of the Silver Millenium. I didn't know Diamond had come to the future. I thought you would have to spend eternity without your soulmate, so I made one up for you. I knew it wouldn't be the same, but I thought since you two were friends, you might find happiness anyway."

"I understand."

"Diamond, one of my biggest regrets was not giving you a chance in your last life. I can see clear as day that you love her like no one else ever could. Don't forget that no matter what challenges come your way."

"And Pearl, I think that if we hadn't been so stubborn, we could have been friends. I always admired your tenacity, even if you still to this day can't follow any rules. (Like the one that prohibits manipulating the wall of the after life). Thank you for watching over my daughter for me."

"Of course, would you like to see our granddaughter?"

Queen Serenity nodded and Pearl went to get a sleeping Chibiusa. The girl wokeup when she heard her grandmother whistling.

"What are we doing?"

"We're going to meet your other grandmother."

This was her first time seeing the Queen Serenity. "She has your eyes," Serenity said to Diamond. "How did she get pink hair?"

Pearl laughed. "She got that from me."

"Of course she did. It looks like gum."

"Mother," Usagi chastised.

"It does. Well, she's the most adorable little girl I've ever seen. Even if her hair might be mistaken for cotton candy."

"Will my hair ever become silver like yours?" she asked her grandmother.

The other women were a bit wary. Most women don't like it pointed out that their hair is silver.

"It might. It also might become purple."

After some more chitchat, it was time for Chibiusa to go to bed. The others left shortly afterwards giving Setsuna a chance to say a final good bye to her love.

"I'll never forget you," Setsuna said.


	22. Time to Say Goodbye

I know this chapter's super short, but there is an epilogue

* * *

The next morning, they headed back the Earth. Haruka had to go make up with Michiru. Setsuna was going to send Chibiusa home now, which meant it was time for Endymion to go home as well.

Usagi called Mamoru, so he could say goodbye and to warn him that in the future, Chibiusa would have a different father.

He came over to her house so he could go with them to the time gate.

"I can't say I'm surprised. I felt my tie to her and you weakening over time."

"I won't keep you from her. You can be her Uncle Mamoru."

"That's sweet. I'll be sure to keep in touch no matter what."

It was almost time to go. Diamond was supposed to be here to pick him up soon. Of course, Usagi's communicator went off.

"Calling all senshi!" It was Sailor Neptune.

"Sailor Moon over"

"Sailor Mars is in the shower," Esmarelda said in her communicator.

"Sailors Mercury and Jupiter over," Ami said.

"Sailor V over!"

"King Endymion is throwing a hissyfit and refuses to go back to the future, over!"

Mamoru sighed. "Mamoru will try to convince his future self to grow up over!"

All of the senshi went to Setsuna's house where Endymion was holed up on the roof.

"What is he doing?" Chibiusa wanted to know.

"He doesn't want to go back to his time," Usagi said to him.

"Why not?"

Setsuna explained it to the girl. "Because his past has changed, the future isn't how he knows it. He doesn't want to go to a time where he isn't with Neo-Queen Serenity, and you aren't his daughter."

"But won't it happen anyway, even if he doesn't go back."

"Once he goes back, his memory will be gone and replaced with the new timeline. He doesn't want to let go."

"Can I talk to him?"

Rei was concerned about putting her on the roof.

"I'll go with her." Mamoru took Chibiusa up to see his future self.

"Mamoru, why couldn't you make it work with Usagi. Why are you doing this?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, but this is how it was always meant to be. Usagi had to wait 1000 years to be with her prince. Hasn't she waited long enough?"

"But I taught Chibiusa how to walk, I taught her how to talk," the man was starting to cry.

Chibiusa gave him a hug. "I won't remember you as I do now, but I will remember you. You loved my mother, but you weren't in love with her. It was like watching two friends raise a family. You were happy, but there was something missing. It wasn't like Haruka and Michiru. They can't keep their hands off each other."

Mamoru blushed. Should she know this?

"You'll find the woman you can't live without and you'll have kids, and they can be friends with me, and you can have an even brighter future than the one you remembered. You just have to have hope."

"You probably won't be called Chibiusa when I see you next."

"Probably not."

"Goodbye my Small Lady." He kissed her forehead.

He finally came off the roof. They all said their goodbyes and Endymion had one last word for Diamond. "Take good care of my girls."

"I will."

Setsuna opened the portal sending them into a future unknown. Once they cleared the gates, she sealed them behind ending her role as the guardian of time.

It was a bittersweet moment, saying goodbye to two good friends and ending a role that had defined her for so long. She had to get used to living instead of monitoring the lives of others. She had no idea how to do that.

"What will your parents think?" Diamond asked Usagi on their way back to her house.

"They won't remember Chibiusa. It will be like she wasn't here."

"What about all her stuff?"

"They won't know how it got there."

"Will she remember this trip?"

"I don't think so, but we will." She took her hand in his and knew together, they could get through anything.

The End


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue- 12 years later

* * *

On the Moon Kingdom

A 5 year old girl played in the park with her father. They were running back and forth with a Frisbee while the girl's mother chatted in the park with an old friend who had come to visit.

"It's great to see you Setsuna."

Neo Queen Serenity had not seen much of the former Guardian of Time since her wedding seven years ago.

* * *

The wedding had been a glorious affair. It was the first time they had a party in the Moon Kingdom in over 1000 years. Friends and family came from Earth and the Black Moon to see Serenity and Diamond tie the knot.

Her family was quite surprised to learn that she was Sailor Moon and now she would be Neo-Queen Serenity.

"And all this time, I thought you were just a klutz," Shingo ribbed her.

Minako was the maid of honor, and and Sapphire was the best man. Artemis turned into his human form so he could marry them. Luna turned into her human form for the booze. It was quite the party.

The Moon Kingdom had become a peaceful place once again. All of the senshi had a home on the Moon Kingdom, but they were free to live wherever if there was no senshi business.

* * *

With few responsibilities for the Senshi, Setsuna had gone travelling. She had seen much of the world through her mirror, but it had always been for work. Now, she could see it all for fun. She had fun being a tourist all over Earth, visiting all seven continents, before starting her travels through out the galaxy.

"I've missed you Serenity. I should visit more."

"No you should enjoy yourself. You've earned it many times over."

The two girls talked about where Setsuna had been since the last time they had spoken. She had just come from visiting Michiru and Haruka who were now the parents of the future senshi Hotaru. They had adopted the young girl after her father accidentally blew himself up in a lab experiment.

"Hotaru grew so fast from the pictures they had sent me. I couldn't believe it." It seemed like she was two one day and four the next.

"I can. I swear Chibiusa gets larger every second." Serenity looked back fondly on her daughter and husband.

Setsuna frowned. "You two never came up with a new nickname for her?"

"I know. We tried, but Diamondusa was pretty terrible, and calling her Usagi had people confused. Diplomats would try to schedule meetings with her and maybe they thought she would be more agreeable. She'll agree with anyone who gives her pancakes."

"Like her mother," Setsuna teased.

"Who are you Rei?"

Rei and Esmeralda split their time between the Earth and the Moon Kingdom. Esmeralda had gone into jewelry design and was a hotshot in LA and Milan. They were thinking about having children in the future, but for now, they were just enjoying themselves or bickering all day. For them, it is one and the same.

"Ouch. My temper will never be as bad as Rei's."

"No one's temper will be as bad as hers except maybe her Grandfather's."

The old man still ran his dojo on Earth. People had stopped aging once Endymion had married Queen Kakyuu and formed Crystal Tokyo 4 years ago. It had been the most unlikely pairing. The Queen had come to Earth for help when her planet was under attack. It was love at first sight for the lonely prince and when her planet was saved, he suggested they merge their kingdoms. With a lot of work from Ami and Taiki, they were able to find a way to bridge the two galaxies together and Crystal Tokyo was formed. They had a three year old girl named Talia. With her mother's hair and her father's eyes, she was quite gorgeous.

Ami and Taiki quickly became best friends having worked together for so many hours bridging Kinmoku and Earth. They visited each other frequently. Their wives, Makoto and Yaten respectively, did not get along as well, often feuding with each other as soon as they were in the same room too long. Yaten had a smart mouth and Makoto had a quick fist, a dangerous combination. Seiya of course, loved to fuel the fire everytime they were in the same room together. She was still a bachelorette but was hopeful the right girl would come along some day.

"I know. He's so sweet, but when he and Rei are in the same room …"

"Well when anyone is in the same room as Rei, it is an interesting experience."

They loved the miko that they teased so. "Remember when Minako taped condoms to cover her entire door in college. I thought she was going to kill her."

"Well, they all got used, by someone, so yeah for safer sex."

The two giggled like schoolgirls. Minako had married Sapphire, the next in line for the throne of the Black Moon. Rumor had it his mother might retire within the next few years.

"How is Pearl doing?"

The Queen and Setsuna had been together for a few years now. They started off as friends, reminiscing about the Silver Millenium, talking about the loves they had lost and one day, they were more than just friends. Setsuna wasn't sure if it was love, but it may be the closest she ever gets again and that was good enough.

"She's breaking the rules as always." Setsuna was so orderly. Sometimes she wondered how she ended up in bed with such a troublemaker. Pearl had made a real life version of the game Portal, breaking who knows how many rules.

"If she wasn't, I'd wonder if she was my mother in law." Pearl had broken the life barrier rule one last time, so Queen Serenity could see her daughter's wedding. After that, one of the gods reinforced the barrier.

Now, the unruly Queen was on Minako's case about having children. Soon, she would give it a rest. Minako was a month pregnant and would find out in a couple of weeks.

The Frisbee flew over Chibiusa's head. She went to retrieve it, and a young boy had picked it up.

"Is this yours, Odango?"

"My name is not Odango!"

He smiled at her. His name was Helios.

The End.


End file.
